ZAMBOANGA CITY—Military divers have recovered high-powered weapons on a lake as search and recovery operations continue in Marawi City, officials said.
Recovered were an M-60 machine gun, two Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) launchers, 13 high explosive RPG rounds and 18 rifle grenades, according to Brig. Gen. Roseller Murillo, commander of the Army’s 1st Infantry Division.
“It has been 37 days since the liberation of Marawi, but our troops still recover armaments from the main battle area, which are believed to be from the members of the Daesh-inspired Maute terror group,” Gen. Murillo said Friday.
“Search and recovery operations will continue until we are certain that Marawi (City) is totally cleared,” Murillo added.
He said the firearms were recovered by the divers of the Naval Special Operations Group and Army Special Forces.
He said the reconstituted Joint Task Force Ranao sustained the clearing and mopping-up operations in the former main battle area following the liberation of Marawi City from the Maute group in late October.
Navy divers recovered 30 assorted high-powered firearms on November 12 from a lake area in front of the building that served as the last stand for the Maute group in Barangay Marinaut, Marawi City.
Earlier this week, soldiers were able to retrieve four high-powered firearms consisting of an caliber .30 machine gun, one M-16 Armalite rifle, one sniper rifle and one M4 rifle.
Lt. Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr., Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) chief commended the soldiers in Marawi City “for their unfaltering effort to ensure that every single war materiel is recovered even in the murky waters of the lake.”
“This (search and recovery) mission is never easy especially that there is a possibility for these munitions to explode in the process. I am however confident that our combat divers are seasoned and well-experienced for this task,” Gen. Galvez added. (Teofilo Garcia, Jr/PNA)
