Police kill top militant leader in Philippines

The leader of a Philippine militant group that pledged allegiance to Daesh has been killed in a shoot-out with government forces, officials say.

Mohammad Jaafar Maguid, also known as “Tokboy”, the leader of Ansar Al Khilafah Philippines (AKP) in the region of Soccsksargen, has been killed in a firefight with a combined force of elite soldiers and policemen in southern Sarangani province, Interior Secretary Ismael Sueno announced.

“I am glad to inform you today — I don’t know if you learnt about this already — that the leader of the Khalifa group in Palimbang, ‘Commander Tokboy’ was killed in an encounter, somewhere in Kitagas, Kiamba, Sarangani,” Sueno said in a Presidential Palace press briefing, alongside Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines, in a separate statement on the same day, said a “top government counter terrorism unit”, together with various police units in the south-central Mindanao region, successfully neutralised Maguid, a notorious militant leader.

Troops also nabbed three of his cohorts in the special operation, in the town of Kiamba, at around 12.10am on Thursday.

“Ansar Al Khilafah is one of several violent Islamist militant groups on Mindanao,” the military said.

Policemen, backed by the army special unit, were serving a warrant for the arrest of Maguid when he allegedly resisted and engaged in a shoot-out with government forces.

Maguid is wanted by the government for his alleged role in the bombings and other crimes that took place in the Sarangani area.

Arrested were Maguid’s cohorts Matahata Dialawahe Arboleda, Esmail Sahak alias Mael, Morhaban Veloso and a certain “Bugoy.”

The car Maguid’s group had been driving was flagged down by government forces at a check point, at a resort in Sarangani.

Policemen recognised him from pictures of wanted persons and attempted to arrest him, but he allegedly resisted, prompting the lawmen to shoot him.

Aside from being the suspected leader of the Ansar Al Khilafah, he was also facing criminal charges for extortion, arson, frustrated murder, cattle rustling, and armed robbery.

Maguid was previously arrested in connection with the bombing of the Maasim, Sarangani Provincial Hall, and the torching of a bus in early 2016.

He escaped from the Saranani provincial jail and returned to lead Ansar Al Khilafah, a group that pledged allegiance to the Middle East-based Daesh, in videos that circulated on various sites.

In November 2016, Maguid was able to escape from a group of Marines and policemen who were tasked with arresting him.

Eight suspected militants, including an alleged Indonesian bomb maker were slain in that shoot-out with authorities.

source: GULF NEWS