As martial law in Mindanao nears its end, Presidential Peace Adviser Carlito Galvez Jr. said Wednesday he might recommend an extension, but only in selected areas in the region given the presence of ISIS terrorists in the country’s southern region.
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He made his statement even as another official said two Egyptian suicide bombers and an Abu Sayyaf operative were planning to stage attacks in downtown Jolo for the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi and the others who were killed by security forces in a shootout Tuesday.
AFP Western Mindanao Command chief Cirilito Sobejana said the foreign terrorists were part of the group ASG sub-leader Hatib Sawadjaan.
Sobejana said the two Egyptian bombers were a father and son, identified only as Abduramil, 40 to 50 years old and Abdurahman, alias Josof, 18.
Major Gen. Corleto Vinluan, commander of the Joint Task Force Sulu, said the foreign suicide bombers were neutralized by alert troopers in Sitio Itawan, Kan Islam village in Indanan, Sulu, at 4:50 p.m. the other day.
He said the terrorists while traversing the national road in Indanan, Sulu, were flagged down by soldiers from the 41st Infantry Battalion and 1102nd Infantry Brigade, but they fired at the lawmen, prompting the government forces to retaliate.
A military statement claimed that the terrorists were allegedly the husband and son of a foreign suicide bomber that attacked a military post in Kilometer-3, brgy Tagbak, Indanan, Sulu, last Sept. 8.
“The suicide bombers killed yesterday were foreign terrorists that formed part of the ASG sub-group under Hatib Sawadjaan, so it can be a retribution for the recent neutralization of the ISIS leader in Syria,” Sobejana said.
Martial law was first declared in Mindanao at the onset of the Marawi Siege in May 2017 and has repeatedly been extended by Congress at the request of President Rodrigo Duterte. If unextended this year, it is expected to last until Dec. 31.
“We might recommend to the SND [Secretary of National Defense] some areas, particularly in Sulu, Lanao del Sur, and Maguindanao where there is a presence of ISIS,” Galvez told a breakfast forum.
But he said his office will abide by the recommendations of the military, the Department of National Defense and the Department of the Interior and Local Government.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines earlier said it supports selective coverage of martial law in the southern Philippines considering an improvement in the situation there.
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