| Islamic State of Lanao | |
|---|---|
| دولة لاناو الإسلامية | |
 Theflag of IS, adopted by Islamic State of Lanao after swearing allegiance to ISIL | |
| Also known as | Islamic State of Lanao IS Ranao Maute Group (until 2019) |
| Leaders | Owayda Benito Marohombsara.k.a. Abu Dar †[1] Omar Maute † Abdullah Maute †[2] Amin Bacu †[3][4] |
| Dates of operation | 2013–present |
| Split from | Moro Islamic Liberation Front |
| Country | Philippines |
| Active regions | Lanao del Sur andMaguindanao del Sur |
| Ideology | Salafi jihadism |
| Notable attacks | |
| Size | Unknown |
| Means of revenue | Protection rackets |
| Part of |  Islamic State |
| Allies | Abu Sayyaf (until 2024)Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters |
| Opponents |  Philippines MNLF MILF |
| Designated as a terrorist group by | Philippines[5] Malaysia[6] New Zealand[7] |
Islamic State of Lanao[a] formerly named as theMaute Group ([mɐʔutɪ] or[mɐʔute̞]), is aradicalIslamist group composed of formerMoro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) guerrillas and foreign fighters. Based inLanao del Sur, it was founded by brothersAbdullah andOmar Maute.[9][10][11][12][13] The organization, which also operated aprotection racket in themunicipality ofButig,[12] clashes on several occasions with theArmed Forces of the Philippines, the most significant of which began in May 2017 and culminated in thesiege of Marawi.
It is listed as a terrorist organization by the Philippines, Malaysia and New Zealand.[6][7]
The group, originally known asDawlah Islamiya,[b][14] was founded in 2012 by brothersAbdullah Maute andOmar Maute who were described by a source as "petty criminals" at the time.[15] However, other sources have described the Maute family as wealthy and politically-connected. The matriarch, Ominta Romato Maute, also known as Farhana Maute, owns property inMindanao andManila, and runs a construction business. She is related to politicians inButig, Lanao del Sur and is considered influential.[16] She has been described as the financier of the Maute group's activities, providing logistics and recruiting fighters.[17] Because of the involvement of the entire Maute family, the rise of the Maute Group is described as the rise of family terrorism in the Philippines.[18]
Butig, the headquarters of the Maute group, is also a stronghold of theMoro Islamic Liberation Front and both groups are tied by blood or marriage. Abdullah and Omar Maute arefirst cousins of Azisa Romato, the wife of the late MILF Vice Chairman for Military Affairs Alim Abdul Aziz Mimbantas, who is buried in Butig. The Maute brothers themselves were once members of the MILF.[19]
Philippine Army sources state that their initial encounter with the Maute group involved a firefight in 2013 when the insurgents attacked asecurity checkpoint the government troops were manning inMadalum, Lanao del Sur. The group was thought to have over 100 members then and were supplied with equipment by a foreign terrorist.[13] They are said to be affiliated withJemaah Islamiya,[20] a Southeast Asian Islamist terrorist group.
The groupwas involved in a clash withPhilippine Army troops in February 2016 that led to the capture of their headquarters inButig, Lanao del Sur.[20][21] It was initially reported that Omar Maute was killed in the clash.[22] However, it was later confirmed that he escaped alive,[23] as he was later seen in a video footage found on a cellphone captured by Philippine government troops during the Battle of Marawi.[24] In November 2016, the Maute groupseized the town of Butig, but were dislodged from their positions by Philippine security forces after about a week of fighting.
CNN has reported that two officers of thePhilippine National Police had defected and joined the group.[25]
The group pledged allegiance to theIslamic State in April 2015, along with theAnsar Khalifa Philippines terrorist organization, vowing to provide support for each other.[15] However, according to former National Security Council senior consultant Ashley Acedillo, there are no indications that ISIS ever acknowledged the Maute group's pledge.[26]
Although some reports indicate that the Maute group is regularly seen carrying black flags bearing the insignia of theIslamic State of Iraq and Syria,[12] Butig town mayor Ibrahim Macadato has stated that the group is not affiliated with ISIS, but are merely armed residents.[27] However, training manuals and other documents for militants under the Islamic State were recovered from their captured camp, indicating that the group may be trying to link up with ISIS.[28]
A regional security expert in October 2016 stated that the Maute group was sophisticated in its use of social media and was able to attract students and teachers from the Mindanao State University in Marawi. This attracted variousWahhabi adherents in the Philippines to join their group.[29]
As ISIS suffers setbacks in Syria and Iraq, experts warn that hundreds of fighters from Indonesia and Malaysia will return to look for new opportunities to take the fight elsewhere, and the Maute group's pledge of loyalty to ISIS could serve as an incentive to join ranks with the organization.[30] Since at least 2016, reports on jihadist activities in the Philippines and of Filipino fighters with ISIS indicate an increasing degree of coordination, cooperation, and cohesion between Southeast Asian jihadist militants and the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.[31]
The Maute group is said to be actively recruitingminors for service as "child warriors"[32] and using the non-passage of theBangsamoro Basic Law as propaganda.[13] In April 2016, they abducted sixsawmill workers from Butig,[33] two of whom were later found beheaded.[12] The group is also suspected of being behind a failed bomb plot in close proximity to the US embassy in Manila in November 2016.[34]
On October 4, 2016, three men linked to the Maute group were arrested in connection with the2016 Davao City bombing. The men were TJ Tagadaya Macabalang, Wendel Apostol Facturan, and Musali Mustapha. Defence SecretaryDelfin Lorenzana said that the Maute group had established links with theAbu Sayyaf and that there are "indications" that the group is aligning themselves withISIS.[35] On November 28, thePhilippine government finally officially acknowledged that Maute is linked to ISIS in a live televised comment by PresidentRodrigo Duterte[36] who also revealed the financing of the Davao City bombing by illegal drug money indicating the presence of narcoterrorism in the Philippines.[37]
On May 23, 2017, the Maute groupattackedMarawi City and later besieged by theArmed Forces of the Philippines. The attack resulted in the destruction of homes, the deaths and wounding of soldiers, policemen, and civilians, torching of a mosque, and a hospital being overrun. The former leader ofAbu Sayyaf,Isnilon Hapilon was seen with the group during the attack. The attack resulted in President Dutertedeclaring a state of martial law across the entire island of Mindanao with the possibility that it be expanded nationwide.[38][39]
Majority of the evacuees and refugees have been housed in differentbarangays inIligan. On June 1, 2017, Iligan Mayor Celso G. Regencia issued an order to the residents, who legally possessed firearms, to shoot terrorists who trespass their properties.[40]
Omar Maute was killed by theArmed Forces of the Philippines on October 16, 2017, along with former Abu Sayyaf chiefIsnilon Hapilon.[41] The group was later declared "practically wiped out" by the armed forces following the deaths of the seven Maute brothers. While the public was told not to worry about the group for now, younger members of the group might assume leadership.[42]
Remnants of the group were reportedly recruiting new members aroundMarawi in December 2017. The successor group has been labeled as the "Turaifie group" after its purported leader, Abu Turaifie.[43] Abu Turaifie is the alias of Esmail Sheikh Abdulmalik, the leader of Jamaatul Muhaajireen Wal Ansar, a faction which split from theBangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.[44]In May 2018, the Philippine military alleged that Owayda Benito Marohomsar (a.k.a. Abu Dar) was now the leader of the group. He had fled with dozens of Maute fighters during the Battle of Marawi and has since been active in recruiting new members using money looted from a local bank and the abandoned homes of wealthy residents.[45][46]
On 24 January 2019, a fierce gunfight between security forces of the 103rd Infantry Battalion and terrorists of the Maute group left three soldiers injured and three terrorists injured in Barangay Sumalindao,Sultan Dumalondong,Lanao del Sur.[47][48] Days earlier five militants surrendered to military near a military base inLanao del Sur.[49]
On 12 March, two IS-militants and two Philippine soldiers were killed and one soldier was injured during a gunfight inPagayawan,Lanao del Sur. The attack was blamed on the Dawlah Islamiyah Ranao, a remnant of the Maute-Abu Sayaff Group that led the siege ofMarawi in May 2017.[50] Days later on the 14 March four IS-linked Maute followers and three soldiers were killed while three other troops were missing following an intense firefight in barangay Dinaigan,Tubaran,Lanao del Sur, military officials said Friday. After the speculation of the death of the leader of this group a DNA test released in April confirmed that Maute leader Owayda Marohomsar, alias Abu Dar, was one of the four terrorists killed.[51][52]
On 19 June, a Pakistani member called Waqar Ahmad, 36, was arrested and later deported. Morente said Ahmad was to undergo deportation proceedings for being an undesirable alien due to his alleged terrorist links and for working in the country without a permit. He was arrested after several days of intensive surveillance conducted by members of the PNP Regional Intelligence Unit 9 at the appliance store of his Pakistani uncle in the said city. The authorities suspect that the group planned to make an attack similar to the2019 Indanan bombings.[53][54] On 21 June, an Indonesian militant who fought alongside the Maute Group duringthe rebels siege of Marawi in 2017. The Taguig Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 266 has found Muhammad Ilham Syahputra guilty of the illegal possession of a handgun when he was arrested on November 1, 2017.[55][56]
| Dawlah Islamiya insurgency | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theISIL insurgency in the Philippines,War on terror andWar against the Islamic State | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| PhilippinesMILF | Islamic State | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Bongbong MarcosGilbert TeodoroRomeo Brawner Jr.Murad Ebrahim | Nasser Daud †[57] Khadafi Mimbesa † Abu Zacharia † | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
 Armed Forces of the Philippines | Dawlah Islamiya | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| ≈2,000 soldiers | Unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
14 soldiers killed, 12+ injured 9 MILF members killed | 68 killed | ||||||
11 civilians killed, 50+ injured | |||||||
In 2023, the group had a resurgence and took up the name Dawlah Islamiya, and the Philippine government announced that militants who survived were reorganizing to revive the group. On March 21, two militants were killed and four injured during a ground and air operation in Maguindanao del Sur andCotabato.[58] A police operation was carried out against the group on April 2 inBubong, Lanao del Sur. Three militants were killed and seven arrested, while an officer was wounded.[59] Sixteen days later, another gunman was killed by the army in an encounter inPagayawan.[60]
Between 2020 and 2022, at least 39 militants, six soldiers, three police officers and a number of civilians were killed, mainly during army's operations aimed at capturing surviving members of the group.[c]
On April 18, Dawlah Islamiyah andBangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters militants carried out a bombing attack on a bus inIsulan,Sultan Kudarat, wounding seven civilians.[77]
Between June and December 2023, twenty-one senior members of the group were killed during security operations in Mindanao. Several commanders were among those killed, including leader Abu Zacharia.[78] On October 29, 2023, senior commander Samaon Odin Amil accidentally killed himself after a home-made bomb prematurely exploded inDatu Salibo.[79] A soldier was killed and three injured during an operation in June.[80]
On September 11, theMoro Islamic Liberation Front clashed with Dawlah Islamiyah gunmen in Barangay Tuawayan, killing two of them. A one-month-old boy died during evacuations of civilians amid the fight.[81]
Eleven of the slain militants were killed by the 6th Infantry Division on December 3, 2023,[82] including Alandoni Macadaya Lucsadatu, suspected to be a leader. He was involved in the killing of a former militant who surrendered to authorities.[83] Sixteen hours later,a bomb exploded during aCatholic Mass at the gymnasium ofMindanao State University inMarawi, killing four people and injuring several more.[84] The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack.[85] It was suspected that the attack was carried out by Dawlah Islamiya in retilation for the killing of their militants.[86]
Between December 7 and 9, a joint operation between the army and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in Dalgan, executed by air and ground attacks, killed nine militants and wounded ten more.[87] Eight Moro Islamic Liberation Front members were killed during theshootouts. Dawlah Islamiyah gunmen also killed five civilians inPagalungan before fleeing onriverboats.[88] On December 7, they also carried out another attack in Pagalungan, killing a Bangsamoro commander and burning civilian homes, killing an infant. Dawlah Islamiyah carried out the attacks after blaming the Bangsamoro for the military offensives against them.[89]
On January 3, 2024, two army intelligence operatives were killed during an ambush inMunai while gathering informations about suspects involved in the university's bombing.[90] Nine militants were killed by the military inPiagapo on January 26, 2024, during a hunting on the alleged mastermind of the Mindanao University's attack.[91] The operation resulted in the killing of leader Khadafi Mimbesa,[92] Saumay Saiden, alleged mastermind in the university's bombing, and Abdul Hadi, who assembled the device used in the attack.[93] Three other militants were killed in encounters days later. A gunfight erupted on February 18, 2024, in Barangay Ramain, which resulted in the killing of six soldiers and three militants. Three other soldiers were injured.[94] Two days later, the group carried out a grenade attack against a military base in Aguak, Maguindanao del Sur, wounding three soldiers.[95]
On February 26, three other militants were killed and three soldiers injured in Barangay Matampay during a pursuit operation against seven militants who managed to flee during the February 18 firefight.[96]
On March 17, 2024, ten Dawlah Islamiya gunmen carried out an ambush against the military from the 40th Infantry Battalion on the highway of Tuayan 1 inDatu Hoffer Ampatuan, Maguindanao del Sur.[97] Four soldiers were killed.[98]
Three militants were killed and a soldier was injured during a shootout in Lanao del Norte on April 13, 2024.[99]
On April 29, units from the 103rd Infantry Brigade engaged twelve militants led by leader Nasser Daud in a 45-minute firefight in Barangay Cadayonan inMunai, Lanao del Norte. Three militants were killed and two soldiers injured. A second encounter later erupted in Barangay Maganding, also in Munai town, during the pursuit of escaped militants, in which two more militants were killed and a soldier was injured. Daud escaped from the scene.[100][101]
On May 24, 2024, two militants wanted for high-profile crimes were killed during a shootout with security forces in Barangay Talcon.[102] On July 20, a military vehicle was ambushed by twenty militants, resulting in a shootout in which a soldier was killed and another wounded.[103]
On June 3, 2025, 7 members of the Dawlah Islamiya group surrendered in the hinterlands of Upi town, Maguindanao del Norte.[104]
On June 24, 2025, government forces arrested an alleged bomb-making expert of the Dawlah Islamiya following a clash in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao del Norte.[105]