NORTH COTABATO, Philippines — Soldiers shot dead Wednesday a Dawlah Islamiya bomber wanted for bringing down power transmission towers in different North Cotabato towns in 2015.
Katato Samad of the Dawlah Islamiya's self-styled special operations group was killed in a brief encounter with a unit of the Army's 7th Infantry Battalion in Pikit, North Cotabato.
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The Dawlah Islamiya, also known as the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, operates in the fashion of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.
Major Gen. Diosdado Carreon, commander of the 6th Infantry Division, said Thursday that Katato was tagged in a series of bombings in 2015 of power relay pylons connecting North Cotabato to hydroelectric power plants in Bukidnon and in Lanao del Sur.
The encounter between members of the 7th IB, a unit of the 6ID, and the group of Samad erupted when the gunmen attacked a team dispatched to check their reported presence in Barangay Manaulanan, Pikit.
Samad's companions fled with two wounded companions, initially identified only as Tato and Mursid, when they saw him fall as the 7th IB personnel returned fire.
Soldiers found improvised explosive devices, rifle ammunition, 40-mm grenade projectiles and a black motorcycle at the scene of the clash.
Local officials and barangay elders said the confiscated motorcycle was used by Dawlah Islamiya hitmen in recent deadly attacks on off-duty and unarmed soldiers in North Cotabato.