Maute-ISIS: Still a threat? AFP monitoring even if they’re not as potent

While the military has won the 148-day Battle of Marawi which claimed over 1,000 lives and displaced tens of thousands of residents, the security threat of the ISIS-inspired Maute group remains although it has lessened as compared to a year ago.

It was this time last year when President Rodrigo Duterte placed the entire island of Mindanao under martial law following clashes between the military and local and foreign terrorists who were fighting under the banner of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

The firefight which lasted for five months erupted after the military launched an operation against Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon following information from residents that the anointed emir of the Islamic State in Southeast Asia was holed up with Maute group members in an apartment in the area.

Admitting that the battle in Marawi was one of the biggest security crises to hit the country, the Armed Forces of the Philippines has assured that after a year of declaring the termination of combat operations, government troops have "practically neutralized the Maute-ISIS group as a potent security threat in terms of being a local terrorist group."

"They are not as potent as a threat at they were when they first launched an assault in Marawi. Sa ngayon hindi na nila kayang gumawa ng isang Marawi...but we are still monitoring their actions to ensure that they will not be able to make a comeback of Marawi," AFP spokesperson Colonel Edgard Arevalo said in a phone interview.

The military has no estimate of the remaining Maute members who were able to flee during the siege but Arevalo said the troops had grossly diminished their number which had over 900 fighters.

The recruitment of the Maute group has continued despite the loss of their prominent leaders, Hapilon and Maute brothers, Abdullah and Omar. Hapilon and Omar were killed in October, while Abdullah was killed in September.

The other Maute brothers—Abdullah, Madi and Otto—have also been earlier killed in the clashes.

"May may mga namo-monitor tayo na mga recruitments na ginagawa nila and we are exerting all efforts. We have launched programs to ensure that they will not be successful in their recruitment," Arevalo said.

New leader

A new leader identified as Owayda Benito Marohonsar alias Abu Dar has emerged with millions of pesos in loot, but his credibility is being questioned for supposedly leaving his members in the main battle area.

"'Yung credibility niya as a leader is questionable kasi ang lumalabas ngayon iniwan niya 'yung mga kasamahan niya sa main battle area. Nu'ng tinatawag siya para bumalik, hindi siya sumunod then tinakas niya 'yung mga ibang nakaw ng ISIS-Maute," Philippine Army chief Lieutenant General Rolando Bautista said.

"Kung tatanungin mo kung potential ba siya maging leader? Yes, pero balita namin maraming mga iba na tinatanong kung talagang credible ba siya maging leader," he added.

Abu Dar was among the 10 personalities who were seen in a video plotting the group's attack in Marawi City. He remains at large but the military has monitored his movements around Lake Lanao.

"Among sa 10 na nakita doon sa planning video nila, siya na lang ang buhay so ngayon nagre-recruit pa rin sila around Lake Lanao so they still pose a threat," Colonel Romeo Brawner, deputy commander of Joint Task Force Ranao, said.

The President had declared the liberation of Marawi last October 17, a day after the killing of Hapilon and Omar.

The urban warfare has resulted to the deaths of 920 Maute fighters while 168 out of the 12,186 government troops deployed in Marawi were killed and 1,767 were wounded.

A total of 47 civilians were also killed amid the clashes while 1,777 were rescued.

Two weeks ago, 27 Maute members who have surrendered to the military were presented to Duterte.  Prominent among the 27 rebels were the wife and son of Otto, the eldest of the Maute brothers. —KG/RSJ, GMA News