8 Dawlah terrorists arrested in Maguindanao del Sur – BusinessWorld Online
COTABATO CITY — Soldiers cornered and immediately detained eight members of the Dawlah Islamiya in an operation in Shariff Aguak town in Maguindanao del Sur before dawn on Monday.
Local officials and Moro datus in the province who supported the operation told reporters on Tuesday, that the eight members of the outlawed Dawlah Islamiya were planning to expand their extortion activities, when personnel of Army units arrived to check on their reported presence in the area.
Brig. Gen. Edgar L. Catu, commander of the 601st Infantry Brigade, said the anti-terror operation that led to their arrest was launched after local executives and barangay leaders reported sightings of the eight violent religious extremists in the municipality.
The newly installed chief of the military’s Western Mindanao Command, Major Gen. Donald M. Gumiran, still functioning as commander of the 6th Infantry Division in concurrent capacity, said he is thankful to the residents of Shariff Aguak.
Mr. Catu and Mr. Gumiran separately told reporters that soldiers had seized an M16 assault rifle from one of the eight terrorists and a list of traders they planned to subject to their extortion activities. — John Felix M. Unson
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