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[av_heading heading=’ 2 Marawi siege leaders dead – Defense chief ‘ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=’30’ subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
BY ADRIAN STEWART CO and PRINCE GOLEZ
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Tuesday, October 17, 2017
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MANILA – Two leaders of Islamic State-inspired extremists who laid siege to Marawi City, Lanao del Sur have been killed by government forces on Monday, Defense secretary Delfin Lorenzana announced.
But the death of Omar Maute and Isnilon Hapilon does not end the conflict in Marawi as the military continues to hunt down Maute’s brother Abdullah and Malaysian terrorist Mahmoud Ahmad, Lorenzana said.
The martial law in the entire Mindanao – declared after the clashes in the capital city started on May 23 as the extremists attempted to establish an IS caliphate in the country – stands as well.
Maute and Hapilon perished in armed clashes while state troops were trying to recover the last remaining Maute stronghold in Marawi, Lorenzana told a news conference in Camp Aguinaldo on Monday.
Two remains matched with photos of Maute and Hapilon but these have yet to undergo a confirmatory DNA test, the Defense secretary said.
An operation “conducted by government forces to retake the last remaining Daesh-Maute stronghold” in Marawi has resulted in the death of Hapilon and Maute, he said, citing a report from Armed Forces ground commanders.
“Their bodies have been recovered by our operating units,” Lorenzana said.
Seventeen hostages were rescued during the operation but over 20 hostages were still left in the war-torn city, said Zia Alonto Adiong, head of the government’s Marawi Crisis Management Committee.
That 17 hostages were saved on Sunday night – the youngest was 5 years old, it was learned – indicates that “nawawalan na sila ng hold sa kanilang mga (the Mautes are losing control of their) hostages,” Adiong said in a statement released Monday afternoon.
Hapilon, leader of the Abu Sayyaf Group based in Basilan, is the purported emir of the IS in Southeast Asia. Omar, on the other hand, is one of the leaders of the local Maute terrorist group.
Earlier President Rodrigo Duterte offered a P10-million bounty for Hapilon on top of the $5-million reward offered by the United States. The Philippine government also offered a P5-million bounty for each of the two Maute brothers.
As of Sunday, 162 soldiers have died while more than 1,700 were wounded in the clashes that are well on their sixth month now.
Government forces have also killed a total of 817 Maute fighters while 47 civilian casualties were recorded.
Adiong said the neutralization of Maute and Hapilon can be considered a huge blow to the extremist group and could lead to the end of the conflict in a few days.
“Ito ay senyales na patapos na ang giyera,” he said. “We expect that there will be a substantial number of surrenderees from the ranks. Paliit na ng paliit ang area na pinamumugaran nila.”
Even with this development, Lorenzana said there is no immediate plan to lift the martial law in Mindanao as they prepare for possible retaliatory attacks from the extremists.
“We will announce the termination of hostilities once government forces have ensured that there are no more terrorist-stragglers in the city and we have cleared all structures of IEDs (improvised explosive devices) and other traps,” he said.
“After the fighting stops, we will refocus our efforts on the challenging task of rebuilding and rehabilitating Marawi,” added Lorenzana.
Duterte placed the entire Mindanao under martial law after the conflict in Marawi started in May. Congress extended the proclamation until the end of the year.
Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella assured that more details on the operation will be released “as soon as permissible.” “Mopping-up operations are under way,” he said.
Sen. Gringo Honasan II called the neutralization of Maute and Hapilon a “positive development” but said the “body count” will not win the battle.
“To fight terrorism, insurgency, secession, injustice oppression, and deeper forms of violence, we need a good delivery of basic services, food, clothing, shelter, education, and health to begin with,” he said.
Sen. Vicente Sotto III called on the government to immediately start the rehabilitation of the war-torn city while Sen. Francis Pangilinan said the latest development somehow makes up for losses on the part of the state forces.
“Kahit paano ang naging mabigat na sakripisyo ng ating mga sundalo ay nauwi sa pagsupil at pagpatay sa mga lider ng kaaway,” said Pangilinan./PN
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