10/31/2019 Philippines (International Christian Concern) – Last week, security forces in the Philippines killed seven suspected members of an Islamic State-inspired militant group during a clash in the southern Philippines, according to the military.

According to BenarNews, on October 23, a joint-force by the police and military forces attacked the suspects’ hideout in a village in southern Midsayap town, sparking a firefight that led to the casualties, said local infantry commander Lt. Col. Glen Caballero.

Those killed were identified by the officials as members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), a Muslim rebel faction that has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS).

The suspects killed in the Wednesday clash were behind “terroristic and criminal activities” in Midsayap town, south of Marawi, according to regional police commander Col. Maximo Layugan.

Among those killed was Mama Macalimbol, a BIFF fighter wanted for several crimes including a grenade attack on Sto. Nino parish church in Midsayap that injured 16 people on Christmas Eve 2016, Layugan told BenarNews.

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