Singaporean terrorist believed to be among those killed in Maguindanao airstrikes

The Philippine Army announced yesterday that a Singaporean terrorist is believed to have been killed during the airstrikes that were launched in Maguindanao on Monday.

Rappler identified the Singaporean militant as Mohammad Ali alias Muawiyah, a member of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF). He was killed when the military launched airstrikes in the towns of Shariff Aguak, Pagatin, Mamasapano, Shariff Maydona Mustapha, and Salibo, places where the BIFF and Dawla Islamiyah, another ISIS-affiliated group, are believed to operate.

Singaporean newspaper The Straits Times reported that Muwiyah’s camp in the town of Sultan sa Barongis in Maguindanao was attacked last month by Philippine troops, but he managed to escape.

Aside from Mauwiyah, an unidentified Arab-looking fighter was seen among the dead militants.

Other than those two, the military said they also believe that BIFF leaders Salahudin Hassan and a certain Commander Bastardo perished because of the airstrikes, reported ABS-CBN News. Seventeen other terrorists were believed to have been killed.

Major General Cirilito Sobejana, the commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, told the Manila Bulletin that the army is already in control of the BIFF and the Dawla Islamiyah’s territories.

The military also has its share of casualties. The Associated Press said one soldier was killed and seven others were wounded in the village of Inaladan, which was hit by the Army’s rocket-firing choppers and planes before troops arrived.

Meanwhile, a total of 5,000 residents were displaced from their homes due to the airstrikes, which were reportedly done in coordination with the municipalities and the former rebel group Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

BIFF is a breakaway group from the MILF, a formerly separatist organization that is now in charge of managing the transition of parts of Mindanao into the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. Dawla Islamiyah, meanwhile, is affiliated with the Maute Group, the band of militants which laid siege in Marawi in 2017.