By RICHEL UMEL
Contributor .
ILIGAN City – A suspected terrorist was killed as soldiers stumbled on high-powered firearms and suspected shabu during combat operations of troops under the Joint Task Force Zampelan in Masiu, Lanao del Sur, on Thursday.
Maj. Ronald Suscano, 1st Infantry Division spokesman, said the killing of the suspect came after government forces responded to information provided by civilians.
Soldiers from the 49th Infantry Battalion launched pounded on the lair of Panarigan Tama Baoraki a.k.a. Golden Boy, and Hadji Rasul Amimbering.
The two are alleged leaders of a group that embraced the Maute-Isis ideology in Lanao del Sur, the military said.
Lt. Col. Allan Villanueva, the battalion commander, said the armed encounter was brief, and it took place in a village called Sawer in Masiu.
Suscano said the terrorist group fired shots at the approaching soldiers who then engaged the suspects for at least 10 minutes.
Suscano said one of the suspects was killed. He was identified as Zainal Candidato.
The military claimed to have found high-powered weapons, including three M16 rifles, two grenade launchers, two grenades, Isis banners, six sachets of suspected shabu and drug paraphernalia, and a cellular phone.
There was no casualty report on the side of the military.
The military said the Isis-inspired terrorist group has continued to recruit young people to join them in exchange for a P30-thousand fee and a P20-thousand monthly allowance each.
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