MANILA – All military units in Lanao del Sur put on a region-wide red alert in the wake of the attack on its provincial jail which led to the release of 28 prisoners, including eight members of the Maute Group, last Aug. 27.
“We have given a region-wide red alert (for this jailbreak and as part) of the cooperation with the police to ensure their arrest,” said Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesperson Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla.
He added the AFP is now working with the police in the pursuit and recapture of the escaped prisoners.
An estimated 50 heavily-armed men raided the Lanao del Sur Provincial Jail 5:45 p.m. Saturday.
The armed men disarmed the jail guards, captured JO3 Modaser Manwang and carted away assorted high-powered firearms.
Seized were one M-16 rifle, one M-14 assault rifle, and the patrol car assigned at the Lanao del Sur Provincial Jail.
Manwang and 20 other inmates were released later in the village of Caloocan in Marawi City.
The Raiders brought with them the eight members of the Maute Group, a local terrorist group, aboard a motorized boat to an unknown direction.
A military checkpoint intercepted the eight terrorist suspects last week on board a vehicle loaded with high-powered firearms and improvised explosive device.
The suspects were reportedly on a mission to sow terror in the neighboring cities of Iligan and Cagayan De Oro apart from a plan to attack an Army camp in Marawi City.
by By Priam F. Nepomuceno
(PNA)
LGI/PFN
