TSG Intel Brief: The Philippines Battles Abu Sayyaf
04.13.2016 at 02:05pm
The Philippines Battles Abu Sayyaf – The Soufan Group Intel Brief
Bottom Line Up Front:
• On April 9, militants from the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) ambushed a Filipino military unit on the remote southern island of Basilan, killing 18 soldiers
• The Filipino soldiers were part of an operation to kill or capture ASG leader Isnilon Hapilon and free several foreign hostages held by the group
• Formerly allied with al-Qaeda, ASG pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in the summer of 2014
• The losses suffered by the Filipino military demonstrate the difficulty of uprooting entrenched localized insurgencies.
