Warning: Undefined array key "rbname" in /data/rantburg.com/www/pgrecentorg.php on line 14
Hello !

Mohagher Iqbal

Mohagher Iqbal

Moro Islamic Liberation Front

Southeast Asia

20030109

Southeast Asia

Philippine police hunt for 6 IS-linked militants in officers’ killings

2022-09-03

[BenarNews] Six members of a holy warrior group linked to Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... hard boyz were responsible for killing a police chief and his aide during a roadside ambush in the southern Philippines earlier this week, and a manhunt is under way, officials said Friday. National police chief Rodolfo Azurin Jr. told news hounds he had directed officers to coordinate with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the country’s former largest separatist group that controls a Moslem autonomous region in the south, to catch the suspects in the attack in Maguindanao province. The suspects are believed to be former MILF guerrillas who joined the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters ...a MILF splinter group aligned with the Islamic State... (BIFF), a splinter group that has rejected the regional grinding of the peace processor with the government and is allied with a Philippine faction of the Islamic State (IS) group. "Our hot pursuit operation is ongoing. As far as the identification of the suspects, they are BIFF. I have directed our men to file the case against these perpetrators," Azurin said without identifying each individual. The suspects were blamed for killing police Lt. Col. Reynaldo Samson and his aide, Cpl. Salipudin Endab, outside of Ampatuan town on Tuesday. Three other coppers were maimed in the ambush and ensuing firefight. Samson was the local chief of police. The officers were on their way to arrest a narco identified as Abdulnasser Guianid, who was believed to have close ties with holy warrior organizations, police said. The six suspects involved in the ambush also have existing arrest warrants, Azurin said. "Right now, we are still waiting for the response of the MILF who have to show sincerity because we have signed the peace pact," Azurin said. As part of a pact agreed to under a peace deal struck between Manila and the MILF in 2014, officers can enter the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Moslem Mindanao (BARMM), which the Moro Islamic Liberation Front controls. "They should help the (national) government, which has already accommodated them. This time, we need reciprocity from them. So surrendering these people is part of that reciprocity that we are expecting," he said. Senior MILF member Mohagher Iqbal, who served as the former rebel group’s chief peace negotiator, said the suspects are not members of the MILF, but of the splinter group. "Rest assured, our men on the ground will assist authorities in hunting down the suspects behind the ambush," he told BenarNews. Abdulraof Macacua, another senior MILF member, said its forces were directed to cooperate with police and the military if troops are dispatched to MILF strongholds to search for the suspects. In a separate statement, BARMM front man Naguib Sinarimbo denied any MILF involvement in the attack. "The MILF has nothing to do with it," he said.

Link

Southeast Asia

Another Marawi-type siege may be coming, says Philippines

2018-01-09

[ARABNEWS] Troops should prepare for a possible repeat of the Marawi siege in "another city" in the country, Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana told them on Monday. Lorenzana admitted that more foreign turbans are reported to have entered Mindanao. In a speech during the Philippine Army Special Operations Command (SOCOM) turnover ceremony here, the defense chief warned the troops that they will again be called upon later on, or "maybe immediately" as there’s still "some work to do in Mindanao. "It is not far-fetched that one of these days they (ISIS-inspired turbans) will again hold another city for quite some time." Lorenzana made the statement after a petition urged the Supreme Court to stop the year-long extension of martial law in Mindanao. The petitioners claimed martial law has no factual and legal basis. But in a news conference after the turnover ceremony, the defense chief expressed readiness to defend the extension of martial law as there is "continuing rebellion" in the southern Philippines. "It started in May and continued until October. It is the belief of the armed forces and the police that there is continuing reorganization of the rebellious forces. They would again conduct a Marawi-type operation some time in the future. I also believe that," Lorenzana said. He added that "the rebellious forces were not all killed in Marawi." Quite a number, according to the defense chief, "were able to extricate themselves, and they (now) are somewhere there in Mindanao. "Some of them are in Central Mindanao, some are in Lanao," Lorenzana said. Based on reports from the military, the police and also from civilians, recruitment is in progress and there are also small groups conducting training. "So we will address those during this martial law extension," Lorenza stated. When asked to confirm a statement by a Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) official on the arrival of more imported muscle in Mindanao, Lorenzana said: "That is also what we got and we are trying to confirm it. That’s also another reason why it bolsters our argument to extend the martial law." Lorenzana noted that if it is confirmed that more foreign turbans have entered the country, "the more we are going to do it strictly in Mindanao, fighting against them using martial law." Mohagher Iqbal, chair of the MILF peace panel, earlier told Arab News that despite the liberation of Marawi City in October last year, ISIS-oriented groups in Mindanao have not been completely defeated. "And as far as an intelligence report is concerned, their recruitment is ongoing in Mindanao," he said. "Expect that they will surface once again." The MILF official added that "reports of the arrival of ISIS personalities from the Middle East is very much happening in Mindanao, especially in the island province of Sulu and Basilan ...Basilan is a rugged, jungle-covered island in the southern Philippines. It is a known stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf, bandidos, and maybe even orcs. Most people with any sense travel with armed escorts... .

Link

Southeast Asia

Six Philippine troops killed in Basilan battle

2017-11-12

[Inquirer] At least six troops were killed and four others were injured in what the military described as a clash between Philippine soldiers and the Abu Sayyaf in Basilan province. The Moro Islamic Liberation Front, however, said what took place in Sumisip town on Wednesday was a “misencounter” between soldiers and MILF militants. Task force commander Juvymax Uy said soldiers conducted a strike against Abu Sayyaf rebels led by Siar Alhamsirol and Parong Tedi in Upper Cabengbeng village on Wednesday afternoon. He said the gun battle lasted for four hours because the militants were “reinforced by lawless elements." “As they edged toward the [provincial] circumferential road, operating troops were met with heavy fire by lawless elements believed to be relatives and sympathizers of the Abu Sayyaf bandits,” Uy said. He said the military launched air support for the ground troops, who killed or wounded an undetermined number of rebels. But Mohagher Iqbal, MILF peace panel chair, said no Abu Sayyaf militants were involved in the clash. He said MILF rebels in Sumisip were alarmed when soldiers arrived in their area “without any coordination.” He said, "We suffered one dead and one injury." Uy did not identify the six soldiers killed during Wednesday’s clash, which he insisted involved the Abu Sayyaf. Why won't the Philippine military give the MILFs their due?

Link

Southeast Asia

Philippine troops join MILF to fight breakaway group

2017-09-08

[Inquirer] The Philippine military said it had teamed up with old enemies behind a long-running Muslim insurgency as it looks to eject a breakaway gang of radical militants pledging loyalty to the Islamic State. As artillery shells and rockets pounded targets in this farming town in Datu Salibo, Maguindanao, soldiers were seen mingling freely with several hundred Moro Islamic Liberation Front fighters who have joined an assault on gunmen here. The joint operation is the latest tactic by the government to try to stamp out pro-IS fighters, after more than three months of battling a separate faction of militants who have besieged Marawi City about 100 kilometers to the north. Sixth Infantry Division commander Arnel dela Vega said militant groups had taken the opportunity “to build up their forces” while Philippine troops were engaged in Marawi. The alliance with MILF included “providing them with indirect fire support and even air support and other expertise,” he said adding that the awkwardness of fighting alongside former longtime foes had vanished. The military is feeding intelligence to the MILF in the fight against about 60 militants led by Esmael Abdulmalik alias Abu Turaifi, a former MILF guerrilla leader. But Dela Vega said troops would not merge with the MILF fighting groups because they had “different operational tactics and procedures” in the conflict, which began in early August on marshlands here. He said the deal was a “win-win” situation for both the government and the MILF. Senior MILF leader Mohagher Iqbal said the breakaway Abu Turaifi-led militants wanted to steal the MILF’s guerrilla army and had the same goals as the pro-IS militant faction seeking to carve out territory in Marawi.

Link

Southeast Asia

Muslim rebels in Philippines to start turning over weapons

2015-06-12

[ARABNEWS] Moslem guerrillas in the Philippines will begin turning over their weapons as part of a peace deal even as politicians are still debating a law creating a new autonomous Moslem region in the country's south, rebel and government peace negotiators said Thursday. President Benigno Aquino III will be the guest of honor at the ceremonial turnover of high-powered weapons next week, chief government negotiator Miriam Coronel Ferrer said. She said 145 guerrillas of the 11,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front also will be decommissioned. Rebel negotiator Mohagher Iqbal said rebels agreed to hand over their weapons to an independent group despite the delay in the passage of the law creating the new autonomous region. "This is just the start of the decommissioning process, which the (rebel group) has committed to undertake as a show of its sincerity to peace building," Ferrer said.

Link

Southeast Asia

BIFF founder Kato dies in Mindanao

2015-04-15

[Reuters] The leader of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters died on Tuesday. Ameril Umbra Kato suffered a heart attack in his hideout in Maguindanao province. General Gregorio Catapang said, "We have pictures of his burial. He died of natural causes. Before this, he had a diabetic stroke that immobilized him." BIFF spokesman Abu Misri Mama also confirmed the Kato's death after speaking with the militant leader's son, Omar, who is expected to be the armed group's new leader. Kato, a former field commander of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, opposed peace talks with the government after an ancestral land deal in 2008 was nullified by the Supreme Court. The peace process has stalled after the bloody clash that killed 44 police commandos, 17 militants and four civilians on January 25 as lawmakers suspended debates on a law to create a new autonomous Muslim area in the south. BIFF militants were involved in firefight. General Catapang said, "This will help the peace process because we all know his group is a peace spoiler." Mohagher Iqbal, the MILF chief peace negotiator, said they will welcome back Kato's followers to their group if they wish to rejoin. He added, "We will not accept those who had committed crimes, like bombings and extortion. You can take out the leader, but like any other terrorist organization, the leader can be replaced."

Link

Southeast Asia

Heavy clashes with BIFF forces in Maguindanao

2015-02-28

[Gulf Today] Philippine security forces and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters engaged in heavy clashes in Maguindanao province the military reported on Friday. Captain Jo-Ann Petinglay said the running battles centered on several villages in the towns of Datu Saudi Ampatuan and Datu Unsay. The fighting resulted in the closure of a major highway linking Maguindanao to other areas in Mindanao and caused the evacuation of thousands of residents. Petinglay noted the evacuation started as early as Friday morning when local residents noticed the presence of heavily-armed BIFF militants in the area. Chief MILF peace negotiator Mohagher Iqbal said that they had ordered all its field commanders to avoid the fighting. He said, "The directive is clear for our men to step aside and give way to the military operation. Our only concern and appeal is for the military to ensure the safety of the civilians (in the fighting)."

Link

Southeast Asia

Phillipine troops launch drive against BIFF militants

2015-02-22

[Gulf Today] Philippine security forces launched ground and artillery attacks to dislodge members of the secessionist Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters who have been occupying several villages in the neighboring provinces of North Cotabato and Maguindanao in Mindanao. The launch came amid reports that the military and the police wanted the BIFF to be declared a terrorist group. Captain Jo-Ann Petinglay confirmed clashes occurred between soldiers and BIFF members in a village in the Pikit, North Cotabato on Saturday morning. She said, "Sporadic firefight is still ongoing and there were no reported casualties on both sides." Mohagher Iqbal, the MILF's chief peace negotiator, said that it was not involved in the ongoing military operations adding, "The military co-ordinated with us the operation against the BIFF. Our forces are far from the site of fighting." Earlier, the military reported that members of the MILF and the BIFF engaged in several clashes that resulted in the killing of a front commander and at least six combatants. The clashes forced the evacuation of at least 15,000 people from several villages in Pikit and Pagalungan to avoid being caught in the crossfire.

Link

Southeast Asia

MILF leader says it is still a ‘revolutionary’ group

2015-02-11

[Gulf Today] A senior leader of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front said the front still considers itself a "revolutionary organization" pending full implementation of its peace agreement with the Philippine government. In a letter addressed to a Senate committee, Mohagher Iqbal, the MILF's chief peace negotiator, said that while the front has signed a peace agreement with the government "after 18 years of intermittent war and negotiations, that peace agreement has yet to be implemented. Until that peace agreement is fully implemented, we will remain to be a revolutionary organization." Iqbal wrote the letter to explain his absence from a hearing which is being conducted to look into the killing of 44 police commandos during a botched law enforcement mission on January 25. In the same letter, Iqbal said the MILF's central committee had approved his appearance at a date which has yet to be scheduled as he requested that he be allowed to testify in a session closed to the public and media. But most of the senators opposed the request, saying this would not be fair to senior government officials and ranking security officers who testified in an open hearing covered live on radio and TV. Still unconfirmed reports said weapons, including heavy guns, seized from the "fallen 44" by the MILF and BIFF members were being sold in Mindanao.

Link

Southeast Asia

Moro group to help government get Abdul Basit Usman. Really.

2015-02-08

[Gulf News] The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (Milf) announced its readiness to assist in the neutralisation of Abdul Basit Usman in an apparent effort to appease government and sceptics in the wake of the Mamasapano incident. "The Ad Hoc Joint Action (Ahjag) group is ready to help in the effort," Mohagher Iqbal, chief negotiator of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in peace negotiations with the government, said. Established in 2002, but activated in 2005, the Ahjag played a crucial role in the apprehension of a number of criminal elements mainly in the areas where the Milf operates. But its significance had been clouded by the January 25 incident in Mamasapano, Maguindanao that left 44 police commandos of the Special Action Force (SAF) serving an arrest warrant against two top terrorists, Malaysian Zulfikli Bin Hir aka 'Marwan' and Usman, a Filipino. During the same SAF operation, carried out in secret, Marwan was killed but Usman was able to escape. The incident also led to an encounter between police commandos and the Milf wherein the latter claimed that 16 of their fighters and civilians had died from. Due to the number of SAF fatalities The operation had also caused political backlash on the government of President Benigno Aquino III and had threatened to throw a monkey wrench that could squander the gains of the more than decades old grinding of the peace processor between Manila and the Milf. Certain quarters have accused Milf of providing protection to Usman and Marwan. The two had been hiding in an area known to under the control of the Milf. Iqbal had denied this and reiterated that the Milf and the government could still continue on with the grinding of the peace processor. "The Ahjag has mechanisms that we can use in getting Usman," he said while stressing that Milf is not giving protection to the terrorist who has a $1 million prize under the United States.

Link

Southeast Asia

MILF: We lost men too

2015-02-01

Mohagher Iqbal, the MILF's chief negotiator, said his group also suffered heavy casualties in the deadly encounter in Maguindanao. In a joint press conference with the government peace panel, Iqbal said 18 MILF fighters were "martyred". Another 14 were wounded. He said, "I am very hopeful that as soon as the truth would come out the MILF would be vindicated and I think we are doing everything including this press conference so that we would approach the problem on a very objective manner." Iqbal also appealed to the public, "especially to members of the media… not to fan the emotions of hatred and prejudices." He said, "The Bangsamoro people have also suffered a lot in the conflict in Mindanao, as a result of several massacres in the various parts of the Bangsamoro. The encounter in Mamasapano, Maguindanao was not intended by either side. It was a pure and simple misencounter. The operation was intended by the BIFF which is coddling Marwan and Basit Usman."

Link

Southeast Asia

MILF to form political party for 2016 elections

2014-10-30

A senior member of the MILF has confirmed they would form a political party for the 2016 election. MILF spokesman Mohagher Iqbal said, "We have already started to organize the MILF political party because as a group coming from a conflict situation to a peace settlement equation, we have to engage in regular political exercise — meaning not through the bullets anymore but through the ballot." Iqbal admitted they have yet to determine which candidates will run in the May 2016 election. Filipinos are to elect President Aquino's successor, 12 senators, congressmen, governors as well as mayors and councilors in the May 2016 election.

Link

Warning: Undefined property: stdClass::$T in /data/rantburg.com/www/pgrecentorg.php on line 132
-12 More