Lorenzana confirmed Omar Maute and Isnilon Hapilon killed in Marawi
Lorenzana confirmed Omar Maute and Isnilon Hapilon killed in Marawi
The top leaders behind the months-long war in Marawi have been killed, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana confirmed Monday. Lorenzana made this confirmation when asked if reports were true that Isnilon Hapilon and Omar Maute were killed in clashes.
Details on the deaths of the two leaders, however, were not immediately given. The two earlier pledged allegiance to the Islamic State.
The conflict between government forces and armed groups started May 23, when authorities tried to arrest Hapilon. The armed groups were also supposed to establish a wilayat or ISIS province in Marawi.
(UPDATE 3 – 11 a.m.) MANILA, Philippines — Maute Group leader Omarkhayam Maute and senior Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon, the so-called “emir” of the Islamic State in Southeast Asia, are already dead, based on reports reaching media.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines’ intelligence unit reportedly confirmed that Maute and Hapilon were killed during a firefight with soldiers around 4 a.m., Monday. Seventeen hostages, including a five-year-old child, were rescued during the early Monday morning military offensive. [See below the alleged remains of Hapilon.]
In a statement, the military’s public affairs chief Col. Edgard Arevalo said the AFP had indeed received field reports regarding the deaths of Hapilon and Maute. However, they have yet to confirm the reports.
Maute and Hapilon’s groups seized parts of the Lanao del Sur capital on May 23 to establish an Islamic State caliphate in Southeast Asia, prompting President Rodrigo Duterte to declare martial law in the area and in the whole of Mindanao.
Last month, the Philippine Army’s Western Mindanao Command said that based on four separate reports, Omarkhayam’s brother, Abdullah Maute, was also killed during government offensives.
