KUALA LUMPUR – At least one Islamist militant and six Philippine soldiers were killed yesterday in a military operation to hunt down Dawlah Islamiyah fighters who set off a bomb during a Catholic Mass last December.
Army spokesman Col Louie Dema-ala said four soldiers involved in the operation in the jungles of Mindanao island were injured.
Ten Dawlah members were killed last month, including the bombers’ alleged leader Khadafi Mimbesa.
Dawlah Islamiyah is one of several Islamist groups that pledged support for the Islamic State.
At least four people died, and several others were injured, after a bomb exploded during a Catholic Mass at the Mindanao State University.
Senior police official Emmanuel Peralta said they recovered fragments of a 16mm mortar at the scene.
Marawi, a city in Mindanao, was seized in 2017 by an Isis-linked group known as Maute in an effort to turn it into a governorate. Between May and October, a battle, described as the longest urban battle in the modern history of the country, resulted in the death of more than 1,000 fighters and civilians.
The southern Philippines has a Muslim-majority population while the rest of the country is predominantly Roman Catholic. – February 19, 2024