2 ‘terrorists’ slain in Lanao del Sur clash

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines — Two suspected terrorists were killed while two others were arrested following an encounter in Piagapo, Lanao del Sur over the weekend.

Government security forces recovered improvised explosive devices from the suspects, who were believed out to conduct bombings on Saturday.

The firefight lasted 30 minutes and resulted in the death of Arafat Amino, alias Salama, and a certain alias Gazali, both reportedly members of terror group Dawlah Islamiya.

Aside from the IEDs, the military recovered a rifle and a pistol from the slain suspects.

Troopers of the Army’s 51st Infantry Battalion (IB) were responding to reports about the presence of armed men when they chanced upon the suspects in Barangay Palacat, according to Maj. Gen. Generoso Ponio, chief of the Joint Task Force Zampelan and of the Army’s 1st Division.

Pursuing soldiers backed by personnel of the Piagapo police captured two fleeing militants in nearby Barangay Talao.

Lt. Col. Fernando Payapaya, chief of the 51st IB, expressed belief the suspects were planning to plant the IEDs along the routes of the military.