MANILA: Five Daesh-inspired militants died in an airstrike on a known hideout of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) in southern Philippines early on Tuesday, the military said.
Capt. Arvin Encinas, spokesperson for the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said five government troops were wounded in the air and ground operations that started around 3:30 a.m.
In a telephone interview, Encinas told Arab News that the Philippine Air Force bombarded the base of BIFF leader Esmail Abdulmalik, also known as Abu Turaife, at Barangay Tunganon area in North Cotabato province. Soldiers were later sent in to contain Abdulmalik and his men in the area.
Abdulmalik is the leader of a third faction of the BIFF. His group uses the Daesh flag as its banner.
When asked how many BIFF forces were in the area, Encinas said: “Enough to stage atrocities.”
“The operation was conducted to weed out the terrorist group and to free the communities from the terror menace brought about by the BIFF,” Encinas said.
According to official information received on the ground, five BIFF fighters were killed during the airstrike.
Government forces have been pursuing Abdulmalik’s group for more than two months. Focused military operations have now begun in the neighboring province of Maguindanao.
In previous operations, soldiers overran three BIFF camps. As a result of continuing military offensives, Abdulmalik and his group were driven out of their enclaves and forced to move to North Cotabato.
In Tuesday’s offensives, Encinas said that all safety procedures were undertaken for the “well-coordinated, deliberately planned, and specific-target operation.”
The army initially said that “the targeted areas are far from the local communities, hence the operation was conducted with outmost consideration that the civilian populace is far from harm’s way, ensuring their safety and protection.”
However, Encinas said that 180 families had been displaced due to the clashes.
Maj. Gen. Dela Vega, commander, Joint Task Force Central (JTF Central), said government forces were determined to defeat all threat groups and thwart their activities in Central Mindanao.
“The continued support and cooperation of the community hasten and complement the ability of JTF Central to prevent and counter the efforts of the radical extremist groups in sowing fear and violence in the area of operation,” he said.
A splinter group of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the BIFF, broke into three factions in 2014. One of the factions, led by Abdulmalik and commonly known as the Toraife group, pledged allegiance to Daesh along with the Abu Sayyaf Group and Maute Group.
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Five militants killed in Philippines army offensive
Five militants killed in Philippines army offensive
Missiles pound Ukraine capital ahead of Russian invasion anniversary
- Kyiv has faced waves of overnight strikes in recent weeks as Moscow has intensified its winter assaults
- The strikes also prompted heightened vigilance across Ukraine’s western border
KYIV: Explosions rocked Kyiv before dawn on Sunday after officials warned of a ballistic missile attack, just two days before the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion.
AFP journalists in the capital heard a series of loud blasts beginning around 4:00 a.m. (0200 GMT), shortly after an air raid alert was issued.
“The enemy is attacking the capital with ballistic weapons,” the head of Kyiv’s military administration Tymur Tkachenko said on Telegram, urging people to remain in shelters.
The air force later extended the alert nationwide, warning of a broader missile threat.
Kyiv, regularly targeted by Russian missile and drone attacks since the start of the invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, has faced waves of overnight strikes in recent weeks as Moscow has intensified its winter assaults on energy and military infrastructure.
Temperatures had plunged to nearly minus 10C when the capital was struck again, with emergency services deployed across the city.
Tkachenko later said the attacks had caused a fire on the roof of a residential building.
The strikes also prompted heightened vigilance across Ukraine’s western border.
Poland’s Operational Command said early Sunday it was scrambling jets after detecting “long-range aviation of the Russian federation conducting strikes on the territory of Ukraine.”
It also came hours after blasts in Lviv, a western city near the Polish border that rarely sees deadly attacks.
Explosions ripped through a central shopping street around 12:30 am (2230 GMT Saturday), killing a policewoman and injuring 15 people after officers responded to a reported break-in.
“This is clearly an act of terrorism,” mayor Andriy Sadovyi said, offering no details on perpetrators.
Such attacks far from the front line have become more frequent over the past two years.
Four years of war
Ukraine will mark four years since Russia’s assault on Feb. 24, 2022, a withering war that has shattered towns, uprooted millions and killed large numbers on both sides.
Moscow occupies close to a fifth of Ukrainian territory and continues to grind forward in places, especially in the eastern Donbas region, despite heavy losses and repeated Ukrainian strikes on logistics.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that Ukraine “is definitely not losing” the war and that victory remains the goal.
He said Ukrainian forces had clawed back about 300 square kilometers (116 square miles) of territory in recent counterattacks, gains AFP could not immediately verify.
If confirmed, they would be Kyiv’s most significant advances since 2023.
Sweeping outages of Starlink Internet terminals across the Ukraine front, shut down by owner Elon Musk following a plea from Kyiv, have enabled the push, according to Zelensky.
The bombardment also came amid a diplomatic push by Washington to end the four-year war.
Ukrainian, Russian and US envoys have met several times since January, but without a breakthrough.
Zelensky, under mounting pressure from Washington to consider concessions, plans consultations with European leaders in the coming days and wants deeper involvement from Middle Eastern states and Turkiye.
AFP journalists in the capital heard a series of loud blasts beginning around 4:00 a.m. (0200 GMT), shortly after an air raid alert was issued.
“The enemy is attacking the capital with ballistic weapons,” the head of Kyiv’s military administration Tymur Tkachenko said on Telegram, urging people to remain in shelters.
The air force later extended the alert nationwide, warning of a broader missile threat.
Kyiv, regularly targeted by Russian missile and drone attacks since the start of the invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, has faced waves of overnight strikes in recent weeks as Moscow has intensified its winter assaults on energy and military infrastructure.
Temperatures had plunged to nearly minus 10C when the capital was struck again, with emergency services deployed across the city.
Tkachenko later said the attacks had caused a fire on the roof of a residential building.
The strikes also prompted heightened vigilance across Ukraine’s western border.
Poland’s Operational Command said early Sunday it was scrambling jets after detecting “long-range aviation of the Russian federation conducting strikes on the territory of Ukraine.”
It also came hours after blasts in Lviv, a western city near the Polish border that rarely sees deadly attacks.
Explosions ripped through a central shopping street around 12:30 am (2230 GMT Saturday), killing a policewoman and injuring 15 people after officers responded to a reported break-in.
“This is clearly an act of terrorism,” mayor Andriy Sadovyi said, offering no details on perpetrators.
Such attacks far from the front line have become more frequent over the past two years.
Four years of war
Ukraine will mark four years since Russia’s assault on Feb. 24, 2022, a withering war that has shattered towns, uprooted millions and killed large numbers on both sides.
Moscow occupies close to a fifth of Ukrainian territory and continues to grind forward in places, especially in the eastern Donbas region, despite heavy losses and repeated Ukrainian strikes on logistics.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that Ukraine “is definitely not losing” the war and that victory remains the goal.
He said Ukrainian forces had clawed back about 300 square kilometers (116 square miles) of territory in recent counterattacks, gains AFP could not immediately verify.
If confirmed, they would be Kyiv’s most significant advances since 2023.
Sweeping outages of Starlink Internet terminals across the Ukraine front, shut down by owner Elon Musk following a plea from Kyiv, have enabled the push, according to Zelensky.
The bombardment also came amid a diplomatic push by Washington to end the four-year war.
Ukrainian, Russian and US envoys have met several times since January, but without a breakthrough.
Zelensky, under mounting pressure from Washington to consider concessions, plans consultations with European leaders in the coming days and wants deeper involvement from Middle Eastern states and Turkiye.
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