Mohammad Jaafar Maguid, the figurehead of the extremist Ansarul Khilafa Islamiya Philippines, was killed in an encounter with security forces at a beach resort in Kiamba, Sarangani early yesterday.
Police said three of his bodyguards were arrested during the encounter at Angel beach resort in Barangay Kitagas at around 1 a.m.
Matahata Dialawe Arboleda, Ismael Sahak and Morhaban Veloso gave up and surrendered to the lawmen after seeing Maguid fall during the firefight, police said.
Maguid, known abroad as Abu Shareefa al-Filibini, founded the Ansarul Khilafa Philippines (AKP) as among the several violent Islamic militant groups in Mindanao that has carried out deadly attacks on civilians to win support from Islamic State fighters in Iraq and Syria.
“He’s wanted for bombing incidents. They use improvised explosive devices, killing people at town festivals,” regional police director Chief Supt. Cedric Train said.
“They fly the ISIS flag in their camps. They want to be recognized by the ISIS,” Train added, referring to the Islamic State group by one of its acronyms.
The military killed eight Ansarul Khilafa members in a clash in November 2015 at Maguid’s hometown of Palimbang, Sultan Kudarat.
Maguid and his followers were trying to put up a Taliban-style government in Butril, a remote village in Palimbang, when security forces attacked them.
The Maguid-led Khilafa group is known for its links with the outlawed Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) in Maguindanao and the Dawlah Islamiya, also known as the Maute group in Lanao del Sur. [source]
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