17 terrorists nabbed in Maguindanao del Sur

COTABATO CITY — Seventeen local terrorists were arrested in an anti-terror operation in Ampatuan, Maguindanao del Sur on Monday.

The operation also led to the seizure of powerful improvised explosive devices and six assault rifles, Major Gen. Donald M. Gumiran, commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said, citing a report from the Army’s 90th Infantry Battalion (IB).

Soldiers and policemen were dispatched to Barangay Kapinpilan after Moro villagers reported the presence of the 17 men in the area, three of whom were spotted assembling powerful improvised explosive devices using ammonium nitrate as main blasting powder.

Moro leaders in Ampatuan confirmed to reporters that the 17 men are combined members of the Dawlah Islamiya and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.

The 17 local terrorists yielded peacefully when they sensed that soldiers and policemen had surrounded their hideout, ready to neutralize them if they resisted arrest.

They are now in the joint custody of the 90th IB and the police, undergoing tactical interrogation, according to municipal officials. — John Felix M. Unson