Butig

Butig, Lanao del Sur is not much of a town. What inspired the members of the Maute Group to occupy it is still anybody’s guess.

Occupation of the town by the terrorist group drew a determined military response. The Armed Forces threw in everything they had: helicopter gunships, warplanes, heavy artillery and tanks.

Still, it took our soldiers six days to recover this forsaken municipality from the terrorists. In the end, 31 soldiers were wounded and 61 members of the Maute Group lay dead.

Although the Army firmly controls the center of the town, remnants of the terrorist group are said to be lurking in the forested fringes of Butig. As they withdrew, the terrorists booby trapped the town – already devastated by bombardment and houseto-house fighting.

As I view the television clips and read reports of soldiers injured by booby traps, I see shades of Aleppo or of Mosul. A town is seized. It is liberated only at the cost of leveling it – like Manila was after it was liberated by the US Army.

Our military officers try not to speculate about what motivates the enemy. I suspect Butig was occupied for the Maute Group to create its own Mosul, very likely on instructions from some ignorant ISIS handler from Syria or Iraq.

The Maute Group pledged allegiance to the ISIS some months ago. We are not sure if they did that for prestige or for financial support. At any rate, the local facsimiles of the ISIS have tried their best to mimic the brutal methods of their idols. This includes bombing a night market in Davao City and bloody executions. This made carnage the hallmark of whatever it is they are fighting for.

The local terrorists, who could not be more intelligent than their Arab idols, must have thought Butig was fit to be their Mosul. Recall that Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, was seized through a lightning operation by ISIS fighters several years ago. It was touted as the seat of the caliphate ISIS imagined.

Mosul, unlike Butig, was not just a bustling urban center. It was an important vantage point. Iraq’s biggest dam sat nearby and oil wells dotted the desert around it. It has, for thousands of years, been the nexus of trade in that part of the world. Every significant ethnic and religious community is represented in Mosul’s cross-section.

Given the Maute Group’s size and fighting capacity, however, Butig should suffice. The terrorists probably imagined that by controlling the town, they could magnify their influence. It would serve as a bastion for them to grow their movement and threaten the Republic.

They grossly miscalculated. The AFP’s response was immediate and overwhelming. The enemy was not going to be allowed to hold populated territory, to have a sanctuary within which terrorists could be trained and IEDs to be manufactured.

If the Maute Group wanted to hold on to a town, they needed large mobile forces to pin down reinforcements sent in to recover it. Apart from the minor squad-sized unit that managed to attack a police convoy sent in as advance party for President Duterte, there is no other indication of any substantial mobile force.

Instead, the Maute Group tried to hold on to the town by fortifying their positions in the few built-up areas of the municipality, including the old town hall and the mosque. They were sitting ducks for artillery barrages and airstrikes. When the Army assaulted the town, armored vehicles protected the troops. This explains the gross disparity in the casualty toll.

The Battle for Butig sets down policy so clearly even the terrorists might understand.

If units such as the Maute Group might manage to survive in sparsely populated areas, it is not because our security forces tolerate them. It is simply because it is too costly and inefficient to chase bandits in the jungle. But if they occupy populated areas, the Armed Forces will give them no quarters and no rest.

President Duterte no less, dismissing the dangers of slipping into the war zone, visited the troops at the frontline in Butig to raise morale. On the day the President visited the troops, Butig was cleared.

We are not sure how quickly the Maute Group might recover from the disastrous Battle for Butig, considering the casualty toll. But if terrorist incidents might be caused by lone wolves, a couple of members of this group with enough propensity for violence could still hit soft targets, especially in the metropolitan areas.

This is the reason why the PNP remains on high alert despite the lopsided outcome at Butig. We have had so many terrorist attacks happening during the holiday season to merit the alert. Last week, a bomb was found on Roxas Boulevard with Maute Group “signatures.”

Remember the Maute Group is not just a generic bandit group. It is composed of members of the Maute clan. That is enough reason to suspect they will attempt to exact vengeance in the wake of crushing defeat.

The Maute Group used to be a unit of the predominantly Maranao Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Its members were said to have been involved in the assault that wiped out an entire unit of the PNP-SAF at Mamasapano.

If there is any deal to be cut with the Maute Group, the MILF ought to be involved. Partners of the Philippine Government in carving out a Bangsa Moro homeland, the MILF should take responsibility for reining in a renegade group that used to be part of their fighting forces.