Militant leaders wanted
KOTA KINABALU: Two Filipino militant leaders involved in the insurgency in Marawi City are among the latest 18 foreigners wanted by the Eastern Sabah Security Command's (ESSCom) for cross-border crimes.
Abu Sayyaf group leader Isnilon Hapilon and Maute group head Abdullah Maute – who have ties with the Islamic State (IS), are believed to be trying to flee the Philippines military offensive trying to take back Marawi City.
ESSCom commander Datuk Wan Abdul Bari Abdul Khalid said there were concerns that Abdullah and Isnilon, the Basilan island Abu Sayyaf leader, could try to slip into Sabah.
"We are worried that they could try to flee into our country disguised as illegal immigrants or foreign fishermen," he said in a statement yesterday.
Others on the list include southern Philippines kidnap-for-ransom gang figures Indang Susukan, Hatib Hajan @ Sawadjaan, Majan Sahidjuan @ Apo Mike, Boy Intel and Savador Muktadil @ Badong.
Also listed are Alden Bagde @ Sayning, Raden Abun, Halipa Ibrahim, Marajan Asiri, Marajan Asiri, Ben Yadah @ Ben Tatton, Sabril Madrasul@ Salip Jul, Las Pangit, Sangbas, Burham Luthien @ Vietnam and Salip Mura.
"According to investigation, including information from the Philippines, this is the list of individuals who are wanted and suspected to be involved in several cross-border crimes and yet to be detained by Philippines or Malaysia's security forces," Wan Abdul Bari said.
Some of those in the wanted list may have been killed during the Philippines security forces' operations against them in Jolo island.
Wan Abdul Bari said anyone with information about these individuals may contact the ESSCom operations room at 089863 181 or via WhatsApp at 013-880 3585 or 019-230 5909.
Alternatively, they could also relay such information to the nearest police station.
The fighting between government forces and terrorists from the Maute and Abu Sayyaf groups, which led to the declaration of martial law in Mindanao on May 23, has been raging for nearly a month.
Meanwhile, report from the Philippines said Omar Maute, one of the two founding members of the Maute terrorist group, is likely dead.
Armed Forces of the Philippines chief General Eduardo Año said on the sidelines of the trilateral meeting of Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia in Manila yesterday that Omar’s brother, Abdullah, is reportedly alive and is still in Marawi City.
The two brothers led the terrorists who laid siege to Marawi City, which entered its 30th day yesterday.
Reports of the death of Omar from one of the airstrikes carried out by the military circulated in early June.
Abu Sayyaf leader and purported Islamic State leader in Southeast Asia Isnilon Hapilon is still believed to be in Marawi. He was the target of the raid that triggered the ongoing conflict, which displaced thousands of residents and killed dozens of government troops.
Islamic militants launched a day-long assault on a southern Philippine village Wednesday during which they held 31 people hostage inside a school, authorities said, raising fears of spreading violence as other jihadists fought a month-long urban war nearby.
Hundreds of gunmen attacked a lightly guarded military outpost at dawn, with some then taking over the school and using civilians as human shields throughout the day before fleeing at night, the military said.
"It's all resolved, all the hostages have been accounted for, no one was hurt," military spokesman Brigadier General Restituto Padilla told AFP by phone on Wednesday night.
The military said earlier that the gunmen had planted improvised bombs around the school, a small building in a rural area, and that soldiers had surrounded it.
Padilla and a local military spokesman said the militants were able to use the cover of darkness to escape, while leaving their 31 hostages unharmed. They said 12 children were among the hostages.
The unrest occurred in Pigkawayan, a farming town about 160 kilometres (100 miles) from Marawi city where fighters linked to the IS group have been battling troops for a month in a conflict that has claimed hundreds of lives.
Armed forces spokesman Restituto Padilla said the attackers at Pikgawayan belonged to the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), one of four groups in the southern Philippine region of Mindanao that have pledged allegiance to IS.
Local police said the BIFF attack may have been intended to help the militants in Marawi by distracting the military, although Padilla insisted it was unrelated.
Padilla said gunmen engaged in skirmishes throughout the day in and around Pigkawayan, while others occupied the school and using civilians seized from neighbouring homes as human shields.
Pigkawayan is part of a largely lawless areas with mixed Muslim-Christian communities where the BIFF, other Muslim rebels and political warlords hold sway. The town is surrounded by marshlands, mountains and farmlands.
About 200 gunmen were involved in the initial assault, according to Pigkawayan mayor Eliseo Garsesa.
Muslim rebels have been fighting for more than four decades for an independent or autonomous region in the south of the mainly Catholic nation, with the conflict claiming more than 120,000 lives.