Five terrorists under Owayda Benito Marohombsar alias Abu Dar, the supposed leader of the Islamic State (IS) and its local affiliate Maute Group, were killed in continuing operation against terror groups in Lanao del Sur.
Col. Romeo Brawner Jr., spokesman of the military’s Joint Task Force Ranao, said five fighters of the IS-Maute Group were killed during firefights in the mountainous areas of Tubaran, Lanao del Sur, on Sunday.
Earlier, the military claimed that Abu Dar may have been among those killed in the operation, but clarified later it was his men who died during the encounters.
Abu Dar, military officials claimed, has assumed the leadership of the IS and the Maute Group following the death of Abu Sayyaf Group commander Isnilon Hapilon, the recognized leader of the IS in Southeast Asia, during the government’s five-month operation to retake Marawi City from the clutches of terrorists.
Abu Dar, who is from Pagayawan, Lanao del Sur, was among the top planners of the Marawi siege, but while the other planners that included Hapilon and the Maute siblings were killed during the military operation to liberate the city, he was able to escape.
The military claimed that Abu Dar later assumed the reigns of the leadership of the IS and the Maute Group.
Brawner said the pursuit operations against Abu Dar and the other remnants of the IS-Maute Group began at around 9 a.m. in the mountainous areas of Tubaran, wherein the military used air strikes and artillery bombardments during the initial attack.
At least 723 families were evacuated to government-run shelters in Tubaran and in the adjoining municipality of Pagayawan.