THE relentless combat operations of the Joint Task Force (JTF)-ZamPeLan has compelled a member of the Dawlah Islamiyah terror group to surrender in Lanao del Sur, military officials announced.
Lieutenant General Corleto Vinluan, Jr., Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) chief, identified the surrenderer as Amirudin Dimakuta, 40, a resident of Barangay Mamaanum, Piagapo, Lanao del Sur.
Vinluan said Dimakuta surrendered and handover an AK-47 assault rifle with two magazines of ammunition around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 2, 2021, to Lieutenant Colonel Fernando Payapaya, 51st Infantry Battalion (IB) commander, in Matampay village, Munai, Lanao del Norte.
The Westmincom chief said Dimakuta revealed that he was recruited by a certain “Arafat” sometime in 2019 exploiting his standing warrant of arrest for kidnapping.
Dimakuta also recounted the fear and hardships he experienced due to the ongoing focused military operations against them in Lanao del Sur.
Brigadier General Jose Maria Cuerpo, II, 103rd Infantry Brigade commander, said Dimakuta will subsequently be enrolled to the livelihood program of the government in preparation for his reintegration into mainstream society.
Meanwhile, Major General Generoso Ponio of the JTF-ZamPeLan said they are exhausting all their available assets to press on the remaining terrorists hiding in the hinterlands of the Zamboanga Peninsula and Lanao provinces.
“We urge all those who are still hiding to just lay down their arms and return to the folds of the law,” Ponio said. (SunStar Zamboanga)