June 15 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Philippine Army has announced the death of the leader of the branch of the Islamic State jihadist group in the country, Farahudin Pumbuaya Pangalian, known as ‘Abu Zacharia’, in the framework of an operation carried out in the city of Marawi (south). .
The head of the Western Mindanao Command of the Philippine Army, Roy Galido, has indicated that the suspect “has been neutralized in a joint operation carried out in the early hours of June 14, 2023.” Thus, he has highlighted that the man “was successfully neutralized after resisting arrest during an operation in his safe house in Marawi.”
In this sense, he stressed that “the target opened fire upon being aware of the presence of government forces, forcing the operational troops to respond.” “‘Abu Zacharia’ also launched a 60mm mortar and two hand grenades at the troop positions,” he detailed.
Galido pointed out that the clashes lasted “for about ten minutes” and added that the Philippine forces later located “the body of ‘Abu Zacharia’ and two M16A1 assault rifles”, while confirming that a soldier was injured. .
In this sense, he stressed that a second operation carried out in the area resulted in the death of “another key leader” of the Maute group -formerly known as Daula Islamiya- identified as Joharie Sandab, alias ‘Morsid’, who he would be in charge of finance and logistics for the jihadist group.
“It is a significant success in our campaign against Daula Islamiya. We are sure that the death of ‘Abu Zacharia’ will be the downfall of this Islamic State-inspired group in our area of operations,” Galido argued, according to a statement published by the Western Mindanao Command of the Philippine Army through its account on the social network Facebook.
Along these lines, he has promised that the security forces “will continue on the path that leads to internal security with the utmost sincerity and dedication.” “Let us join together on the path towards lasting peace and development, which are the inclusive inspirations of all peace lovers in Mindanao,” she concluded.
For his part, the chief of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region Police, Allan Nobleza, has indicated that the Philippine security forces “are preparing for possible acts of revenge,” as reported by the newspaper ‘The Philippines Star’. “We will never give his supporters a chance to do that,” he stressed after the operation, in which weapons and explosives have also been seized.
‘Abu Zacharia’ would have assumed the leadership of the terrorist group after the death in March 2019 of Owaida Marohombsar, alias ‘Abu Dhar’, in an operation in the province of Lanao del Sur. The Philippine Army said in March 2022 that the terrorist was also a leader of the group known as Islamic State in East Asia, which includes Indonesia and Malaysia.
The Maute group has been losing relevance in recent years as a result of a series of operations unleashed after the group’s seizure of Marawi in 2017, in an apparent attempt to hide the then leader of the Abu Sayyaf terrorist group, Isnilon Hapilon, who led to months of fighting in the area.
The fighting, which lasted between May and November 2017, left nearly a thousand dead and some 500,000 displaced. They also resulted in the death of Hapilon and the main leaders of the Maute group, including Abdullah Maute and Omar Maute, leader and ‘number two’ of the formation.
