A SUB-LEADER of Islamic State-inspired Dawla Islamiyah identified as Usop Nasif alias Abu Asraf was killed in a gun battle with police and army team that was out to serve an arrest warrant against him at dawn last April 12 in Barangay Guimba, Marawi City.
Police Colonel Rex Derilo, Lanao del Sur Provincial Director said that Nasif was reported to be the next in rank of Dawla Islamiyah leader Faharudin Hadji Satar alias Abu Bakar or Abu Zacariah, the trusted leader of Abu Dar, who was with the Mautes during the 2017 Marawi siege.
Nasif reportedly went home for the Ramadan that will start April 13.
The joint army-police team served an arrest warrant against Nasif for murder and frustrated murder issued by Judge Albert Quinto of the Regional Trial Court Branch 11 in Malabang, Lanao del Sur.
However, Nasif – with undetermined number of followers – reportedly engaged the arresting team in a gun battle. Nasif detonated a homemade bomb at the arresting team that provoked the exchange of bullets.
After at least 30 minutes, the bloodied body of Nasif was recovered from one of his bungalow’s rooms. He was declared dead on arrival by physicians at Amai Pakpak Medical Center in Marawi.
Five policemen and a soldier were also wounded in the gun battle.
Recovered from the place of the gun battle were kits for making bombs and a 9 millimeter Glock 17 pistol owned by Staff Sergeant Lito Polines of the Army’s 553rd Engineering Batallion that Nasif reportedly killed in Barangay Basak Lalutlut, Marawi, in October 2019.
Nasif was also charged with the murder of two other soldiers from the 4th Mechanized Infantry Battalion in Poona Piagapo, Lanao del Sur, three policemen and three construction workers at a government resettlement site in Barangay Sagonsongan, Marawi, last year.
Former Lanao del Sur police provincial director, Police Colonel Madzgani Mukaram, remarked, “it’s end of the road for Nasif, ang justice has been served to the government soldiers and the policemen he killed”.
