COTABATO CITY (July 23, 2026) — Soldiers seized five military-type assault rifles and three home-made bombs in an anti-terror operation in a lair of Dawlah Islamiya terror group remnants in Barangay Tukanalipao in Mamasapano, Maguindanao de Sur early Tuesday, July 21.

Major Gen. Jose Vladimir Cagara, commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, told reporters on Wednesday that the cache was found by soldiers in a shanty in a secluded area in Barangay Tukanalipao with the help of vigilant tipsters, among them traditional Moro community leaders supporting the 6th ID’s anti-terror missions in Maguindanao del Sur.

The joint operation in Barangay Tukanalipao on Tuesday morning by Intelligence operatives from the Army’s 601st Infantry Brigade, under Brig. Gen. Edgar Catu, and combatants from the 34th Infantry Battalion was launched after villagers reported about the stockpiling by a few remaining Dawlah Islamiya terrorists of assault rifles and improvised explosive devices in one of sitios in the area.

Catu and Lt. Col Edgardo Batinay, commanding officer of the 34th IB, had separately told reporters that they are grateful to residents of Barangay Tukanalipao who guided soldiers to the exact location of the hidden firearms and IEDs.

Army bomb experts are now in custody of the three large improvised explosive devices confiscated during the joint anti-terror operation of the 601st Infantry Brigade and the 34th IB.

Local executives and Muslim religious leaders in Tukanalipao have assured Cagara to help identify the terrorists who owned the assault rifles and IEDs for them to be prosecuted for possession of firearms and explosives.

Photo shows the firearms and big IEDs confiscated by soldiers in an anti-terror operation in Barangay Tukanalipao early Tuesday. (July 23, 2026)