Col. Romeo Brawner Jr.
MARAWI CITY — Despite their defeat here and the death of their top leaders, including “emir” Isnilon Hapilon and the Maute brothers, Islamic militants are still pursuing their plan to put up a caliphate, the military said.
Col. Romeo Brawner Jr., deputy commander of the Joint Task Group Ranao, said pro-Islamic State (IS) individuals continued to rally support and recruited new fighters for IS by using images of the destruction here to convince them to join.
“There are again efforts to recruit fresh fighters,” Brawner said, adding that the recruitment was being done through social media.
Lt. Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr., commander of the Western Mindanao Command, said one of the recruiters, identified only as “Abu Dar,” had been spreading on social media photos of the destruction in Marawi wrought by the five-month war to convince people to fight for IS.
He described Abu Dar — whose real name he did not divulge — as an IS recruiter for Lanao del Sur.
“Despite being defeated, IS did not learn its lesson,” Galvez said, adding that Abu Dar was now being hunted down.
On Oct. 11, authorities arrested 36-year-old Karen Aisha Hamidon in Taguig City for allegedly recruiting militants into the IS cause.
Hamidon, the alleged wife of slain Ansar al-Khilafa Philippines head, Mohammad Jaafar Maguid, was believed to be behind the successful recruitment of several Indian nationals to fight for IS in Mindanao.
She reportedly used the social media platform “Telegram” to convince foreign fighters to come to the Philippines.
The National Bureau of Investigation said Hamidon’s cellphone yielded about 296 posts promoting the Marawi siege.
On the day of her arrest, the NBI said the suspected IS recruiter posted an invitation to “mujahedeen (holy warriors)” to “Let us go to Marawi in Mindanao to join the war against the Conquerors of the soldiers of Tawagheet (idols).”
Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said Hamidon had been charged with 14 counts of inciting to rebellion or insurrection, while a separate charge for rebellion would also be brought up against her for recruiting fighters for IS.
Brawner said the recruitment was continuing to this day. “Their targets are the youth,” he added.
Galvez said Abu Dar was in fact among those inside the city during the early days of the siege.“He was able to escape,” he added.
President Duterte had acknowledged that the IS problem in the country did not end with the defeat of the IS-linked militants.
He had earlier said that aside from the IS group here, militants were also fighting for the establishment of an Islamic caliphate in Maguindanao.
The Maguindanao situation, he said, was jointly being handled by the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
On Thursday, Mr. Duterte ordered newly installed Armed Forces chief, Gen. Rey Leonardo Guerrero, to organize 10 new Army battalions, which would be tasked to go after remnants of IS group in the country.
Analysts had said that tackling the IS problem with military might alone would not solve the problem.
The MILF itself had admitted that the perceived injustices committed against the Moro people and the nonpassage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law were among things fueling the dissent.