SULTAN KUDARAT, Maguindanao del Norte (MindaNews / 05 July 2026) — Joint security forces from police and military in Central Mindanao have neutralized Ismael Abubakar aka Kumander Bungos, the leader of a breakaway faction of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), at around 2 a.m. here on Sunday.
Gunshots awakened residents of Barangay Calsada at around 2 a.m.
Military officials described the operation as a “strategic success” against the influence of ISIS-linked terrorism in the region.
Major General Jose Vladimir R. Cagara, commander of the 6th Infantry Division, said the death of Bungos is “a strategic victory that will significantly weaken the BIFF-Bungos Faction, especially with the upcoming BARMM elections.”
The Bangsamoro is holding its long-delayed first Parliamentary Elections on September 14 this year.
The BIFF broke away from Moro Islamic Liberation Front’s Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF) in 2010, led by Ameril Umra Kato, former commander of the BIAF’s 105th Base Command.
Following the death of Umra Kato in April 2015, the group broke into several factions.
Abubakar, one of the closest top commander of Kato, established the “Bungos Faction,” which later pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (ISIS) and aligned itself with IS-inspired Dawlah Islamiyah.
Abubakar was considered a primary high-value target by the Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom) and faced multiple arrest warrants for murder, frustrated murder, and destructive arson related to his decade-long campaign of violence. (Ferdinandh B. Cabrera / MindaNews)
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