Military mourns loss of 6 soldiers in Lanao clash with IS militants

Lanao del Norte. INQUIRER FILES

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Zamboanga del Sur — Soldiers in the Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) are mourning the loss of six members of the 44th Infantry Battalion in a continuing clash in Ramain village, Munai town, Lanao del Norte.

“We mourn the loss of six brave soldiers who paid their ultimate sacrifice during the operations, we pray for the eternal repose of their souls and strength for their families during this time of grief. We also pray for the speedy recovery of our wounded soldiers who are currently undergoing medical treatment,” said Lieutenant General William Gonzales, Westmincom chief.

Six members of the 44th Infantry Battalion perished in the encounter against the Daulah Islamiyah-Maute Group (DI-MG) led by alias Mas’Od.

The brave soldiers were identified as Corporals Rodel Mobida, Rey Anthony Salvador, Reland Tapinit, Privates Michael John Lumingkit, James Porras, and Private First Class Arnel Tornito.

READ: 6 soldiers killed in clash with terrorists in Lanao

The four wounded are Corporal Jaymark Remotigue, Private First Classes Marvien Aguipo, and Amiril Sakinal, and Privte Nazareno Provido.

Gonzales said the military “will sustain our security operations to prevent the reemergence of the terror groups in our operational area. We believe that a number of DI members were wounded and probably could have died due to loss of blood after the series of encounters since they have nowhere to go due to the blockades established by our troops.”

Reports from sources show that two members of the DI-MG were killed in the series of encounters, while several others were wounded. Responding teams were immediately deployed to extricate the casualties.

While reinforcing troops were conducting clearing operations, two high-powered firearms were recovered (one M16 rifle and one M14 rifle) and one DI-MG member killed.

READ: 36 members of Maute killed, 3 soldiers hurt in Lanao clashes

A series of armed encounters with government forces in Piagapo, Lanao del Sur on Jan. 25-26 killed nine confirmed members of the DI-MG. Of the nine, three were directly responsible for the heinous MSU bombing in December 2023. Ground troops confirmed that among those killed was Khadafi Mimbesa, also known as “Engineer,” the mastermind of the MSU bomb attack.