Q and A on Marawi crisis
Q: The crisis in Marawi City involving the Maute group was reportedly sparked by the military operation against terrorist leader Isnilon Hapilon. But isn’t Hapilon a leader of another terrorist group, which is the Abu Sayyaf ?
A: According to previous reports, Hapilon did rise to become the second in rank of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG). The ASG formerly aligned itself with the late Osama bin Laden’s Al Qaida. But in 2014, Hapilon released a video footage of himself and two masked persons pledging allegiance to the Middle East group Islamic State (IS). The reports did not say whether the other Abu Sayyaf leaders were one with him.
Hapilon was reportedly designated last year as IS point man not only in the Philippines but in Southeast Asia. He then formed an alliance among at least 10 militant groups in Mindanao called the Dawlatul Islam Wilayatul Mashriq (source: philstar.com). The reaction of the Maute group, which is strong in Lanao province, to the military operation against Hapilon means it has allied itself with Hapilon.
Q: Is the Marawi crisis the military’s version of the Mamasapano clash? Hapilon, like the Special Action Force (SAF) target Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan, has a mind-boggling price on his head. In Mamasapano, a small force was overwhelmed by a bigger number of militants. The military also seemed unprepared for the Maute response.
A: It is still too early and therefore unfair to say that now. That can be subject of a probe after the Maute group’s rampage has been quelled. But I have read of some senators asking if there was failure of intelligence because those who conducted the operation against Hapilon seemed unprepared for the Maute group’s response.
In Mamasapano, the operation planners did not inform the military about it because of worries the information might leak and Marwan could escape. But the price tag on Marwan ($5 million from the US government and P7.4 million from the Philippine government) could be a factor, too, for the assault’s inadequate preparation although that was denied. Hapilon has a $5-million bounty from the US government.
Q: The Maute group pledged allegiance to “Isis.” Some media people use “Isis” while others simply use IS. So which is which?
A: Even I was confused until I read a bbc.com article about it. “Isis” is used by many media outlets for the Middle East terrorist group referred to by English-speaking people as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (since part of the two countries have become the enclave of the group). But “Isis” is also used to refer to Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham.
“Al-Sham” was used to refer to the area between the Mediterranean and the Euphrates, Anatolia and Egypt, a wider swathe of area than just Iraq and Syria. The US, meanwhile, refers to Isis as Isil, for Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant. “Levant” refers to Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Israel, the Palestinian territories and part of Turkey.
I prefer the simpler IS for “Islamic State.”