IN PURSUIT. Personnel of the 1st Marine Brigade check on their personnel and vehicles as they continue the pursuit of remnants of the extremist Dawlah Islamiya-Maute Group (DI-MG) in Marogong, Lanao del Sur on Monday (Dec. 12, 2022). At least 30 DI-MG radicals were sighted massing in the area, which eventually led to the discovery of their hideout. (Photo courtesy of 6ID)
CAMP SIONGCO, Maguindanao – The Philippine Marines captured an encampment of Dawlah Islamiya–Maute Group (DI-MG) in Lanao del Sur and recovered war materiel and explosives, the Army here said Tuesday.
Maj. Gen. Roy Galido, the Army’s 6th Infantry Division head, said information provided by civilians in Marogong, Lanao del Sur, about the presence of gunmen in the village of Bagumbayan led to the discovery of the extremists’ hideout in the area.
After confirmation of the DI-MG hideout location, Galido said a law enforcement operation was launched by troopers of the Army's 1st Marine Brigade stationed in the area.
Galido said intelligence reports also showed that Abu Zacharia, the new leader of Dawlah Islamiya-Maute Group, was sighted in the area with about 30 armed followers.
“The villagers noticed new faces in their village and alerted the troopers of Philippine Marines,” he said, adding that residents sighted about 30 to 40 men, suspected to be remnants of the DI-MG terror group that seized Marawi City in 2017.
However, Galido said the Daesh-inspired local terrorist groups were gone during Monday's predawn military operation.
Soldiers found war materiel, including bomb-making components, a manual for manufacturing homemade bombs, grenades and rocket-propelled grenade launchers.
“We appreciated the cooperation of local government units and their community leaders to government forces for providing the military with intelligence information,” said Galido, also the commander of Joint Task Force Central.
“Security is everybody’s business, no single person is responsible for the security, we have to unite and work together,” he added. (PNA)
