MARAWI CITY – Security forces killed 2 top Filipino ISIS leaders in fierce clashes in the besieged city of Marawi in southern Philippines as troops continue to push jihadists out into the open in an effort to end the bloody siege that has dragged on for nearly 6 months now.
The bloodied cadavers of Isnilon Hapilon and Omar Maute were recovered by troops late Monday and had been positively identified by the military. Hapilon, chieftain of the dreaded Abu Sayyaf group; and Maute, one of revered leaders of the local ISIS, who led the siege of Marawi on May 23 in an effort to put up an Islamic State province in the restive Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
The United States offered a $5 million reward for Hapilon and another P10 million from the Filipino government. Omar also had a P5 million bounty on his head, but it was unclear if troops responsible for the death of the two leaders are entitled to the huge bounties, not unless the military would claim that troops had an informant that guided them and resulted in the slaying of Hapilon and Omar.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana has confirmed the killing of both jihadist leaders and said the offensive against the remaining militants have been intensified, but troops were being slowed down by booby traps and improvised explosives planted by the ISIS fighters in many structures they had previously occupied and now abandoned because of the advancing soldiers.
Military forces were still running after other leaders of the ISIS fighting in Marawi, the capital of Lanao del Sur province. Among them are Omar’s brothers – Abdullah, Ottoh and Maddie – who were at many times reported killed by the military – and other foreign militants that included Malaysian professor Mahmud Ahmad, who was one of those that reportedly financed the siege with money coming from the Islamic State. Three other Malaysian fighters – Pendek, Mohammad Amin Baco and Jeknal Adil – were all killed in separate clashes with the Philippine military.
The fighting had displaced over 200,000 people and had killed more than 160 soldiers and about 50 civilians. The military claimed to have slain over 800 militants, but this largely came from unverified reports and intelligence information, and actual body counts were far lesser than the actual number of enemy casualties. (Mindanao Examiner)
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