CAGAYAN DE ORO (MindaNews / 10 August) — The commander of the Army’s 103rd Infantry Brigade said police officers and soldiers were met with gunfire by members of the Dawlah Islamiya-Maute Group in Barangay Lamin in Lumabayanague, Lanao del Sur on Saturday that led to the killing of three and the arrest of three others, including a female member.
Brigadier General Billy de la Rosa, brigade commander, said a joint team of police from the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) of the Philippine National Police and the military were trying to serve arrest warrants against five key leaders of the militant group when fired at by militants hiding in a cluster of houses in the village.
The suspects had outstanding warrants of arrest for murder and homicide, which were issued by the Regional Trial Court in Marawi, Lanao del Sur, in October 2023. The murder warrants had no recommended bail.
“The decisive outcome with no civilian casualties despite that the target area was populated is a testament to the professionalism and discipline of all operating army and police troops,” dela Rosa said.
According to a report from the Police Regional Office Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (PRO BAR), after the encounter site was cleared, authorities confirmed that three suspects—identified as Mohammad Nasif Pangandama (alias Anwar Rahman), Rahma, and Abdullah Midtuon—were killed.
Three others were arrested: Fahad Sarip Maruhom (alias Abu Zacaria), Norhan Kamid (alias Al Wala), and Asnawi Abdullah.
One government soldier was wounded in the clash but is reported to be in stable condition.
Investigators recovered several weapons and materials from the scene, including M16 and M4A1 rifles, a homemade M79 grenade launcher, a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG), hand grenades, and two black flags with ISIS markings.
The firefight came exactly three months after Army troops had an encounter with the militants, killing Nasser Daud, leader of the Daulah Islamiya-Maute Group during a 15-minute clash in Barangay Tambo, Bacolod-Kalawi town also in Lanao del Sur on May 9, 2025.
Dispersed, on the run
Drieza Lininding, leader of the Marawi Consensus Group said most of the militants now are dispersed into small groups engaging in the sale of marijuana and other illegal drugs; gunrunning and acting as “hired guns” of local politicians.
“Money from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) have run dry. Most of its members are on the run or living in refugee camps in Syria. The ISIS in Lanao del Sur have to find innovative ways to survive,” Lininding said.
Lininding said the local militants are also encouraged by a few ulama who still advocate for an ISIS kind of Islamic teaching that are attractive to some of the Meranaw youngsters.
De la Rosa said of the six militants who encountered the army and policemen last Saturday, only one is identified as a veteran of the 2017 Marawi siege. He said the rest are new recruits though some have already figured in several brushes with government troops.
He said the militants have chosen to hide in Lumbayanague town, which lies adjacent to Butig town, birthplace of the Maute group who seized Marawi City in 2017.
“So they thought they were safe there but actually there is no safe place in Lanao del Sur (for them) because we will run after them,” De la Rosa said. (Froilan Gallardo with a report by Ferdinandh B. Cabrera / MindaNews)
