Next target: Hapilon’s 3 sons
Troops also hunt two Malaysians and an Indonesian
MARAWI CITY – Government troops are now zeroing in on three sons of Isnilon Hapilon, the slain “emir” of Islamic State in Southeast Asia, and two Malaysians, including Amin Baco, who has been central to facilitating the movement of foreign fighters in the region.
Lieutenant-General Carlito Galvez, Western Mindanao Command (WestMinCom) commander said on Saturday while disclosing that the government is preparing to declare the end of fighting in Marawi City.
Only 20 insurgents remained in a small area in Marawi City, including Isnilon’s sons and the two Malaysians and three battalions of troops
were closing in on their positions, Galvez said.
“Most probably tomorrow, we can do it,” Galvez told reporters when asked when the military can declare fighting is over. “We can declare it is totally complete.”
“We cannot say our mission is totally accomplished or completed if the five persons are still there,” he said, adding the remaining militants are “struggling to survive” and to protect their shrinking position.
Another general told Reuters they were also looking for a prominent Indonesian militant. The military is concerned Hapilon’s sons and these foreign fighters could succeed core leaders of the alliance killed this week.
Hapilon and Omarkhayam Maute were killed by commandoes on Monday. Malaysian Mahmud Ahmad, who experts say may have funded the Marawi siege, was also dead, according to a freed hostage, but his body has yet to be found.
It’s Hapilon – FBI The Department of National Defense said on Saturday that forensic tests by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had confirmed that the man killed was Hapilon. The United States has provided technical support to treaty ally the Philippines, including surveillance drones.
The deaths of the leaders could slow down any effort by Islamic State to establish a presence in Mindanao, a vast island with a history of rebellion and home to the predominantly Roman Catholic nation’s Muslim minority.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the process of verification will also be done on some other slain terror suspects whose bodies were retrieved by the local troops.
“This process of verification is also being conducted on the cadavers of the other terrorists that have been recovered so far,” said Lorenzana.
The organization and combat capability of the rebels has stunned the military. Some experts see the siege as a prelude to a more ambitious bid by Islamic State loyalists to exploit Mindanao’s poverty and use its jungles and mountains as a base to train, recruit and launch attacks in the region.
Galvez, head of the Western Mindanao Command, inspected troops in Marawi and sent off a battalion of marines central to military operations . It was the second unit to leave the conflict area.
The military declined to divulge the number of troops remaining in Marawi. Elite commandoes were leading the assault, with army infantry battalions and police commandoes securing safe areas.
The military said eleven hostages were “processed” on Saturday to determine whether they were really captives or militant members and sympathizers trying to slip away.
Galvez said rehabilitation, including retrieval of the dead, would start after the end of hostilities is declared.
The Philippines estimates the rebuilding of areas battered by months of government air strikes could cost at least 150 billion.
No complacency
Meanwhile, Malacañang assured that the government, particularly the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), won't let its guard down against the threat of terrorism in Mindanao.
This following the start of the pullout and shifting of the government troops who have been fighting in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur since the rebellion started on May 23, 2017.
Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said the military will continue to address the threat in Mindanao until the last terrorist is out.
“The start of the military pullout in Marawi does not signal the end of fighting between our troops and Maute terrorist-stragglers,” he said Saturday.
“We cannot afford to drop our guard for possible threats coming from the remaining network of Daesh-inspired terrorist group still operating as we begin the challenging task of rebuilding, reconstruction, and rehabilitation of Marawi,” he added.
Abella also said that while the number of enemies has dwindled, the government will continue to be on high alert.
“We will continue to be alert and assure the residents of the city that we will not compromise its security with the presence of some units of the Armed Forces,” he said. (With reports from Aaron B. Recuenco and Argyll B. Geducos)