ARTILLERY. The Armed Forces of the Philippines' ATMOS 155mm caliber self-propelled artillery after it conduced strikes on the position of Dawlah Islamiya terror group in the Maguindanao marshland on Thursday (Dec. 7, 2023). The military said at least nine terrorists were killed. (Photo courtesy of DXND Radyo Bida Kidapawan)
CARMEN, North Cotabato – At least nine Dawlah Islamiya (DI) terror group members were killed during air and ground assaults by the military in the Maguindanao marshland on Thursday, the Army said.
“We counted about nine local terrorists killed in the operation,” Capt. Dexter Ruma, chief of civil-military operations of the Army's 601st Infantry Brigade, said, citing reports from village officials and ground troops directly involved in the operation.
In an interview Friday, Ruma said 10 DI members were also injured from the strikes using Israeli-made autonomous truck mounted howitzer system (ATMOS) self-propelled artillery canons.
Ruma said some 100 families in Dalgan, Pagalungan, Maguindanao del Sur, fled to safer grounds when the 4 a.m. operation started.
No civilians were hurt during the operation, the Army official said, adding that the evacuees were being attended to by the local government unit.
Ruma said they carried out the strikes immediately after intelligence information confirmed that DI members were massing in the marshland. (PNA)
