A SON of a leader of the Daulah Islamiyah-Tureife Group (DI-TG) was killed in a clash with government troops in the province of Maguindanao, military officials announced Thursday, December 2.

Newly promoted Lieutenant General Alfredo Rosario, Jr., commander of the Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom), said the clash broke out dawn of Wednesday, December 1, in Sitio Ulangkaya, Ganta village, Shariff Saydona Mustapha, Maguindanao.

“Upon arrival in the area, troops were fired upon by the DI-TG members under Hassan Indal, also known as Katrina. Our troops retaliated, resulting in an exchange of gun fires which lasted for about five minutes,” Rosario said.

The DI-TG were forced to withdraw and fled in different directions as the troops overpowered them.

“While scouring the area, our troops recovered one enemy cadaver, one 5.56-millimeter (MM) rifle, one bandoleer, 189 rounds of 5.56-mm ammunition, four short and three long magazines for M-16, two cellular phones, and one suppressor,” said Major General Juvymax Uy, Joint Task Force (JTF)-Central commander.

Uy said the slain enemy was later identified as Alias Adsam, the son of Hassan Indal. Troops continue to pursue the fleeing enemies.

“Congratulations to our troops for a job well done. We expect that more enemies were injured due to the bloodstains that scampered in the area,” Uy added.

Meanwhile, Rosario said they will not stop until all terrorists are neutralized.

“Our soldiers are out there hunting for those who refuse to return to the fold of the law and continue to wreak havoc in the communities, hence, I enjoin everyone to continuously support our troops in this fight to eliminate the terror groups in the Mindanao region,” he said. (SunStar Zamboanga)