(Eagle News)–A firefight ensued between Maute fighters and the military in Lanao del Sur on Sunday, June 17.
Joint Task Force Ranao deputy commander Colonel Romeo Brawner said on Sunday evening that it was the military that engaged the group led by Abu Dar, who is believed to be the new leader of the terrorist forces that escaped Marawi after the siege last year.
Brawner said the incident took place near Tubaran town around 9 a.m.
He said there were so far still no other details.
Members of Maute and the Abu Sayyaf attacked Marawi in May last year in an alleged bid to establish an Islamic State caliphate in Southeast Asia.
The attack prompted President Rodrigo Duterte to end his official visit to Russia sooner so he could return to the Philippines.
He then declared martial law in Mindanao.
Months later, he declared Marawi liberated from the terrorists’ clutches after their then-leaders, Omar Maute and Isnilon Hapilon, were killed.
