SEIZED WAR MATERIEL. The guns and explosive materials recovered by Marine troopers on several abandoned makeshift houses on the outskirts of Barira town, Maguindanao del Norte province on March 12, 2023. The Army says the firearms belong to remnants of the Dawlah Islamiya-Maute terror group operating in the border of Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur provinces. (Photo courtesy of 6ID)
COTABATO CITY – Government forces pursuing remnants of local terrorist groups have stumbled upon several abandoned houses with high-powered firearms and explosives in Maguindanao del Norte province last Sunday, a military official here said Wednesday.
Maj. Gen. Alex Rillera, the Army’s 6th Infantry Division commander, said members of the Marine Battalion Landing Team-5 (MBLT-5) discovered five abandoned houses with firearms at Barangay Nabalawag in Barira town, Maguindanao del Norte, on Sunday afternoon.
Rillera, also chief of Joint Task Force Central (JTFC), said Marine troopers were scouring the area for possible enemy presence when they chanced upon the cache of firearms.
“Recovered were six rocket-propelled grenade launchers, 19 81mm mortar ammunition, two mortar baseplates, .50-caliber machine gun ammunition, rifle grenades, M203 grenade projectiles ammunition, and a rocket-propelled grenade, among others,” he said.
Troops also found a printed tarpaulin with the markings "Bangsamoro Government Headquarters, BRD, GHQ."
He said the operating troops immediately secured the area and coordinated with the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Team of the 1st Marine Brigade (1MBde) for the recovery of the explosives and ammunition.
The EOD team immediately disposed of the explosives and brought the other war materials to the 1MBde headquarters in Barira town for documentation and safekeeping.
On Feb. 4, a Marine sergeant was killed and three of his companions were injured in an ambush by remnants of the Dawlah Islamiya (DI) Maute terrorist group in Lanao del Sur province.
The Marines were conducting intelligence operations and were heading for home base when they were waylaid by about 10 gunmen in Barangay Cabasaran, Marogong town.
The Marogong police said the suspects belong to the DI-Maute group under Faharudin Hadjisatar alias Abu Zacharia. (PNA)
