2 bodies remain unclaimed after Pantar clash

By Nora Soriño
Iligan City Bureau Chief
and Ric Palahang
Correspondent

Iligan City — The cadavers of two persons taken to a funeral home here in the aftermath of an encounter between government forces and Isis-inspired fighters remain unclaimed and unidentified as of presstime.

Danny Capin, owner of Capin Funeral Homes yesterday told reporters that the two bodies came from Barangay Lumba Punod, Pantar, Lanao del Norte hours after an encounter between government forces and remnants of Isis-inspired Maute group dawn of Feb. 8 at the vicinity of the Barangay Punod Elementary school.

It was learned that among those that were slain in the encounter was Omar Mustapha Daiser and several men in the group, after which, the slain men were taken to the mortuary here.

Daiser was not among them, the army said earlier as he was turned over by the police at Pantar to councilor of said municipality, Bokari Abdulgani while the two unidentified men were taken to Capin, this city.

It was also learned that Daiser was a resident of Pantar and was an escapee from the Marawi City Jail.

He then joined the Maute-Isis group and was utilized as an Isis contact person in Pantar during the Marawi rebellion.

He had a pending warrant of arrest for robbery with homicide issued by the Marawi City Trial Court and a follower of Solitario Ali, who was said to be involved in drugs, military officials said.

Daiser, along with said unidentified persons were shot dead  after resisting arrest and fighting it out with the enforcers.

Army Batallion Commander Lt. Col. Eleazer Valdez, of the 4th Mech Infantry Battalion based at Suarez this city said earlier  that assorted firearms and a grenade launcher  were taken from the group. There was no reported casualty on the part of the army, it was learned. Among the fatalities reported was one said to be Michael Macana. But it could not be ascertained whether this was one of the two cadavers who were taken to said funeral home in this city.