2 alleged DI militants arrested in Lanao del Sur
GENERAL SANTOS CITY—Government forces arrested two alleged members of the Islamic State-linked Daulah Islamiyah-Maute Group that staged the five-month siege in 2017 in Marawi City.
Soldiers captured on Sunday the two suspects at their hideout in Talao village, Piagapo town in Lanao del Sur, said Lt. Col. Fernando Payapaya, commander of the 51st Infantry Battalion.
Payapaya refused to name the suspects because of the ongoing pursuit operations against other group members.
The arrest came days after the death of two DI-MG members in a clash with military and police in Balabagan town, also in Lanao del Sur.
“This effort resulted in the capture of two alleged DI-MG members, who were planning to lay anti-personnel mines on the possible routes of government forces, purposely to inflict casualties and to delay the movement of the troops,” the military official said. “After the successful encounter, a joint pursuit operation was launched to destroy the other remnants,” Payapaya said.
Soldiers later recovered two 45-caliber pistols with ammunition, two improvised blasting caps, and anti-government documents.
