Army kills 3 suspects linked to fatal police ambush in Maguindanao del Sur

COTABATO CITY – Three members of a terrorist group have been killed in a military operation in the mountains of Maguindanao del Sur, weeks after a deadly ambush claimed the lives of five police officers.

The targeted operation took place Sunday in Barangay Tuayan Mother, where operatives from the Dawlah Islamiya (DI) terrorist group had been sheltering while evading a joint police and military manhunt.

Army 6th Infantry Division spokesperson Lt. Col. Ronald Suscano confirmed that the three slain suspects were among those responsible for the March 28 ambush that killed members of the 2nd Provincial Mobile Force Company. The officers had been on their way back to their camp in Shariff Aguak town after peace and security operations when a group of 15 armed men struck without warning.

Troops sweeping the area after the encounter recovered the gunmen's bodies along with three long firearms and ammunition. Suscano added that ground forces were continuing clearing operations while other Army units pressed on in pursuit of remaining suspects.

The military action follows formal charges filed on April 22 by the Special Investigation Task Group against 11 individuals connected to the ambush. Prosecutors received charges of multiple murder, attempted murder, and theft in relation to the attack in Barangay Poblacion.

Military units across the region remain on heightened alert as security forces work to dismantle what remains of the terrorist cell behind the attack. – The Bangsamoro Reporter Staff