MANILA, Philippines — Philippine troops, backed by airstrikes and artillery fire, killed 11 suspected Islamic militants near a hinterland village in the country’s south, authorities said Saturday, in one of the military’s bloodiest anti-insurgency offensives this year.
The military launched the offensive Friday after receiving intelligence about the whereabouts of suspected leaders and armed followers of the Dawla Islamiyah and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, or the BIFF, groups near the village of Tuwayan in southern Datu Hofer town in Maguindanao province, military officials said.
Army Maj. Saber Balogan, a regional military official, said government forces recovered 11 bodies of suspected militants after more than three hours of fighting.
This came after 13 armed militants belonging to the Dawla Islamiyah surrendered with their firearms to the military in the south, Maj. Gen. Alex Rillera, a regional military commander said.
It was not immediately clear if the militants provided information that helped the military decide to launch Friday’s assault.
After decades of debilitating armed hostilities, the Philippine government signed a 2014 peace pact with the largest Muslim separatist group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, in the south of the largely Catholic nation. That considerably eased armed insurgency-related clashes and violence in the south.
However, smaller Muslim separatist groups have continued to wage attacks, including sporadic bombings in public areas, and at times targeting businesses in return for “protection money” from the owners, the military previously said.
The BIFF, which the military operation targeted Friday, consists of militants who defected from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front following the peace talks with the government. It further split into a few factions, from which some aligned themselves with the Islamic State group.