SAF men kill 3 alleged ISIS supporters in Sarangani

Police killed three suspected members of a group supporting the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in an encounter in Sarangani Province, Saturday afternoon.

Superintendent Romeo Galgo Jr., chief of the Police Regional Office 12's public information office, said the three still unidentified suspects were members of Ansar al Khilafah Philippines.

The Ansar al Khilafah Philippines had been tagged by the military as a new terror group, which had been allegedly trying to recruit students.

Galgo said the encounter between members of the local terror group and the police elite Special Action Force (SAF) broke out at around 5 p.m. in Upper Sitio Lebe, Barangay Dalian in Maasim town.

He said the police commandos main target in the area was a certain Mohammad Jaafar Magud alias Tokboy, the alleged leader of the group.

Seized at the site of the encounter were one Carbine rifle, an M79 grenade launcher, one rifle scope and a black flag with the ISIS logo.

The police official said the bodies of the three suspects were still at the site of the encounter as of posting time.

Before the clash, policemen arrested earlier in the day another alleged member of the group identified as Mustapha Gansing

Seized from Gansing were several manuals and materials for bomb-making, a T-shirt with an ISIS logo and a camouflage uniform.

The site of the encounter has been cordoned off by members of the SAF and the Philippine Army's 27th Infantry Battalion. —report from radio dzBB's Luisito Santos/ALG, GMA News