TWO Maute brothers, identified as terrorist leaders in the now known Marawi siege, and supposed Islamic state emir Isnilon Hapilon were likely still alive, contrary to earlier reports, the military said Monday.
The two men supposedly killed by recent state offensives were not Omar and Abdullah Maute, but possibly their younger siblings who were not initially identified as among the terrorists, said Armed Forces spokesperson Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla.
Omar and Abdullah, Padilla said, were likely still in Marawi, along with Hapilon, the supposed Islamic State emir in Southeast Asia.
President Rodrigo Duterte previously offered a P10-million reward for the “neutralization” of Hapilon and P5 million each for the Maute brothers.
Thousands of state troops are struggling to quell the siege the three terror leaders launched on May 23, which prompted Duterte to place Mindanao under martial rule.
The battle for Marawi, which entered its 77th day on Monday, has left at least 690 individuals dead, Padilla said.
As clearing operations in war-torn Marawi City was set to wind down, the Armed Forces of the Philippines suspended the deployment of another battalion as reinforcement to units still engaged in fighting Maute Group terrorists.
For reasons of operational security, AFP public information office chief Col. Edgard Arevalo declined to say where the battalion was based.
But he added the officers and enlisted personnel of the unit were “disappointed” with AFP chief-of-staff Eduardo Año’s decision to cancel deployment of more troops.
“The Chief-of-Staff desisted on [sic] bringing this Army battalion due to the [recent positive developments] ongoing there,” Arevalo said.
A battalion’s strength is estimated to be around 300 to 500 officers and enlisted personnel.
Arevalo said the battalion’s deployment was finalized two weeks ago and that officers and personnel had packed their equipment, waiting for orders to go Marawi City, only to be informed that Año had canceled the order as there were sufficient troops in the area.
Earlier, ranking military and defense officials said the remaining Maute Group fighters, estimated at around 40 to 60, were now pocketed in two barangays measuring less than a square kilometers.
Clearing operations have been slowed down by the Maute Group’s penchance in using improvised explosive devices, snipers and booby traps.
As of 7 p.m. of Aug. 6, the number of Maute Group terrorists killed has reached the 528 mark while number of government troops slain in the ongoing operations is now at 122 along with 45 civilians executed.
Recovered firearms are placed at 603 and rescued civilians at 1,728.
Meanwhile, the chief of the Foreign Police of the European Union on Monday said threats had gone “global” and Southeast Asia and Europe were facing common threats of terrorism and cybercrime, urging relevant countries for security cooperation to ensure critical infrastructure “resistant” to cyber-attacks, extremisms and terrorism.
During the Post-Ministerial Conference between the EU and the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission Federica Mogherini noted the potential benefits for Europe and Asia of increased cooperation, not only in this issue, but also in trade, tourism, climate aciton, migration, counter-radicalization, security and defense. With PNA and Sara Fabunan