By Edwin Fernandez
DATU SAUDI AMPATUAN, Maguindanao del Sur – Saying they were tired of running away from military forces, 18 members of the Dawlah Islamiya local terrorist group surrendered to the Army’s 92nd Infantry Battalion (IB) here on Wednesday.
Lt. Col. Christian Cabading, commander of the 92nd Infantry Battalion, presented the 18 former violent extremists to Brig. Gen. Jose Vladimir Caraga, commander of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, during a surrender program at the 92nd IB headquarters in Barangay Crossing Salbu.
In a statement Thursday, Cabading said the group also turned in 18 assorted high-powered firearms, including rocket-propelled grenade launchers and .50-caliber sniper rifles.
Caraga lauded the former extremists for their decision to surrender, noting that “there will be no winners in war and that peace is the key to community progress.”
According to Cabadig, the group had been operating in the marshland of Datu Saudi Ampatuan and Mamasapano in Maguindanao del Sur.
The provincial government of Maguindanao del Sur and the Ministry of Public Order and Safety of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) provided initial food and non-food items to the former extremists. (PNA)
