New ISIS emir killed in Marawi
COTABATO CITY, Philippines – Joint operatives of the military and the police killed the leader of the Dawlah Islamiyah-ISIS terror group during a raid on his hideout in Marawi City on Wednesday, June 14.
Faharudin Hadji Benito Satar – also known as Faharudin Pumbaya Pangalian or Abu Zacariah – was the new ISIS Emir in Southeast Asia, following the death of Owayda Benito Marahombsar or Abu Dar, according to the military.
Marahombsar was killed by army soldiers in Lanao del Sur in March 2019.
The Wednesday raid was conducted in Barangay Bangon at around 1:30 am, with authorities reporting that suspects threw grenades and used mortars to preempt the assault team from getting closer to their hideout.
On Wednesday, Colonel Billy de la Rosa, 103rd Infantry Brigade assistant commander, said Zacaria was killed along with a companion identified as Abu Morshid, also a well-known militant of the ISIS-Dawlah Islamiyah group in Lanao del Sur.
Troops recovered a small cache of improvised explosive devices (IED) from one of the rooms of the apartment building the group rented in Barangay Bangon. They also recovered an ISIS black flag and two M-16 rifles from the slain suspects.
An Army soldier identified as Private First Class Chrismar Tungpalal was wounded as Zacaria and his companion engaged the soldiers for ten minutes.
Drieza Liningding, a leader of the Marawi Consensus group, said they woke up Wednesday morning to the sight of soldiers backed by armored personnel tanks searching Barangay Bangon for Zacaria’s companions who were able to escape the raid.
“The entire village of barangay Bangon is on lockdown. There are soldiers everywhere,” Liningding said in a phone interview Wednesday morning.
Marawi Mayor Majul Gandamra said the lockdown was raised by noon after the army soldiers finished their search of the village.
He appealed to residents to be calm, adding the army and police were on top of the situation.
De La Rosa said they monitored the movements of Zacaria leaving the main group of militants two weeks ago after the clash in Marogong that resulted in the death of four militants.
He said that, from Marogong, Zacaria moved to Marawi City to rent a two-room apartment in Barangay Bangon, where the military decided to arrest him Wednesday dawn.
“Our efforts were aided by former ISIS militants who helped us identity Zacaria,” De La Rosa said.
Thousands of residents fled Marogong town two weeks ago after Zacaria aired a threat over radio that the militants would seize the town.
Authorities monitored Zacaria’s group having recruited and trained new young fighters for the group in the thickly forested jungle of Marogong. – Rappler.com