Islamic State 'Southeast Asia chief' killed in Philippines: govt

Philippines' defence minister confirmed the killing of the head of the Islamic State group in Southeast Asia, during a battle to reclaim the militant-held Marawi city.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab

16 October, 2017

Security forces have attempted to liberate Marawi from IS for months [AFP]

The head of the Islamic State group in Southeast Asia, who figures on the US "most wanted terrorists" list, has been killed in the battle to reclaim a militant-held Philippines city, the country's defence minister said on Monday.

Isnilon Hapilon's death came during a push to end the four-month siege of Marawi, a battle that has claimed more than 1,000 lives and raised fears that IS was seeking to set up a regional base in the southern Philippines.

"(Our troops) were able to get Isnilon Hapilon and Omar Maute. They were both killed," Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana told reporters, referring to another fighter who led the attack with Hapilon on Marawi in May.

President Rodrigo Duterte and security analysts say Hapilon has been a key figure in the jihadist outfit's drive to establish a Southeast Asian caliphate as they suffer battlefield defeats in Iraq and Syria.

The US government had offered a $5 million bounty for information leading to Hapilon's arrest, describing the 51-year-old as a senior leader of the southern Philippines-based Abu Sayyaf group, which the US considers a "foreign terrorist organisation".

Lorenzana said Philippine ground forces mounting a final assault on the militants in Marawi killed Hapilon and Omarkhayam Maute, one of two brothers who led a militant group allied to Hapilon, early on Monday.

DNA tests will be carried out on the two bodies because of the reward offer from the US and Philippine governments, he added.

"The implication of this development is that the Marawi incident is almost over and we may announce the termination of hostilities in a couple of days," Lorenzana said.

Philippine authorities have made several previous announcements on the imminent end of the conflict, but observers believe this time the forecast is likely to be accurate.

Pro-IS gunmen occupied parts of Marawi, the Islamic capital of the mainly Catholic Philippines, on May 23 following a foiled attempt by security forces to arrest Hapilon, authorities said.

The Philippine military says Hapilon joined forces with the Maute group to plan the rampage.

Since then more than 1,000 people have been killed and 400,000 residents displaced.

Duterte has imposed martial law across the southern third of the Philippines to quell the militant threat.

The restive south of the mainly Catholic Philippines is home to a decades-old Muslim separatist insurgency and to extremist gangs that have declared allegiance to IS including the Abu Sayyaf and Maute groups.

Agencies contributed to this report.