Soldiers, criminal group clash in Zamboanga Sibugay —Wesmincom

The military clashed with suspected members of a criminal group in Malangas, Zamboanga Sibugay Province on Wednesday, the Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom) said on Thursday.

In a statement, Wesmincom commander Lieutenant General Corleto Vinluan Jr. said elements of the 44th Infantry Battalion (44IB) and the 1st Provincial Mobile Force Company encountered around ten armed men.

He added that they are suspected members of the Boy Negro Criminal Group.

The military said that after a ten-minute firefight the armed men fled, bringing their casualties with them.

Lieutenant Colonel Filven Noche, commanding officer of the 44IB,  said supplemental troops were deployed to reinforce the troops.

“We also established blockades to contain the movements of the fleeing enemies,” he said.

Among the recovered items from the site were a Samsung keypad cellphone, a bonnet, six jungle hammocks, kitchen utensils, a pair of rain boots, four sacks of milled rice, two liters of cooking oil, and a poncho.

Commander of the 102nd Infantry Brigade Brigadier General Leonel Nicolas said all patrol bases of the 44IB along the coastal areas of Malangas will conduct checkpoint operations to monitor the armed men.

Pursuit operations are continuously being conducted to neutralize the lawless elements, the military said.

Major General Generoso Ponio, Commander of the Joint Task Force ZamPeLan, commended the troops for the operation.

Vinluan vowed that the military will keep on fulfilling its mandate despite the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Together with our partners, we will continue to pursue the remaining enemies of the state while we assist the government in flattening the curve of the contagion,” he said. — BM, GMA News