Abu Sayyaf, officially known by the Islamic State as the Islamic State – East Asia Province, is a Jihadist militant and pirate group that follows the Wahhabi doctrine of Sunni Islam. It is based in and around Jolo and Basilan islands in the southwestern part of the Philippines, where for more than five decades, Moro groups had been engaged in an insurgency seeking to make Moro Province independent. The group is considered violent and is responsible for the Philippines' worst terrorist attack, the bombing of MV Superferry 14 in 2004, which killed 116 people. The name of the group was derived from Arabic abu, and sayyaf. As of April 2023, the group was estimated to have about 20 members, down from 1,250 in 2000. They use mostly improvised explosive devices, mortars and automatic rifles.
Khadaffy Abubakar Janjalani was a Filipino Islamist militant who was the leader of the Moro militant group known as Abu Sayyaf and the leader of one of its factions. He was a staunch Wahhabi follower.
Operation Enduring Freedom – Philippines (OEF-P) or Operation Freedom Eagle was part of Operation Enduring Freedom and the global War on Terror. The Operation targeted the various Jihadist terror groups operating in the country. By 2009, about 600 U.S. military personnel were advising and assisting the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in the Southern Philippines. In addition, by 2014, the CIA had sent its elite paramilitary officers from their Special Activities Division to hunt down and kill or capture key terrorist leaders. This group had the most success in combating and capturing Al-Qaeda leaders and the leaders of associated groups like Abu Sayyaf.
Ipil, officially the Municipality of Ipil, is a 1st class municipality and capital of the province of Zamboanga Sibugay, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 89,401 people. Ipil is the most populous municipality of Zamboanga Sibugay, and the second most populous in Region IX after Sindangan.
Siocon, officially the Municipality of Siocon, is a 1st class municipality in the province of Zamboanga del Norte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 48,524 people.
The Dos Palmas kidnappings was a hostage crisis in southern Philippines that began with the seizing of twenty hostages from the affluent Dos Palmas Resort on a private island in Honda Bay, Palawan, by members of Abu Sayyaf jihadist group on May 27, 2001, and resulted in the deaths of at least five of the original hostages. Three of these hostages were American citizens, Guillermo Sobero, and a married missionary couple, Gracia and Martin Burnham. At least 22 Filipino soldiers were killed in attempts to apprehend the captors and free the hostages in the 12 months following the initial hostage taking. An unknown number of captors were killed by government forces.
2000 in the Philippines details events of note that happened in the Philippines in the year 2000.
The Moro conflict was an insurgency in the Mindanao region of the Philippines which involved multiple armed groups. A decades-long peace process has resulted in various peace deals have been signed between the Philippine government and two major armed groups, the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), but other smaller armed groups continue to exist. In 2017, the peace council settled around 138 clan conflicts.
The Light Reaction Regiment is the only tier one special forces of the Philippine Army (PA). Formed in the Early 2000s, and was formerly known as the Light Reaction Battalion and Light Reaction Company. Due to its specialization in black operation, capture or kill high-value targets, counterterrorism and hostage rescue crisis management, direct action, executive protection, irregular warfare, and special operations that are extremely high-risk and dangerous. The formation of the unit is assisted by American advisers, the Light Reaction Regiment has been sometimes referred to as the Philippines' Delta Force.
The Diocese of Ipil is a Roman Catholic Diocese located in the municipality of Ipil in the ecclesiastical province of Zamboanga in the Philippines. It is an ecclesiastical territory in the province of Zamboanga Sibugay. It occupies an area of 4,850 square kilometers extending from the boundary of Zamboanga del Norte on the north to Olutanga Island on the south, from the town of Tungawan on the west to the town Margosatubig on the east boundaries set by Pope John Paul II himself when he decreed the separation of this ecclesiastical territory from the Archdiocese of Zamboanga on December 24, 1979.
2002 in the Philippines details events of note that happened in the Philippines in the year 2002.
The 2000 Sipadan kidnappings was a hostage crisis in Sabah, Malaysia, and the southern Philippines that began with the seizing of twenty-one hostages from the dive resort island of Sipadan at approximately 6:15 p.m. on 23 April 2000, by up to six Abu Sayyaf (ASG) bandits. Taken hostage were 10 tourists from Europe and the Middle East and 11 Malaysian resort workers, 19 non-Filipino nationals in total. The hostages were taken to an Abu Sayyaf base in Jolo, Sulu.
The Zamboanga City crisis or Zamboanga Siege was an armed conflict in Zamboanga City, Philippines between the government forces of the Philippines and Moro rebels from the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) that began on September 9, 2013 and ended twenty days later on September 28. The conflict began when MNLF rebels, under the command of Nur Misuari, attempted to occupy several coastal communities in Zamboanga City in protest of the Philippine government's failure to implement the 1996 final peace agreement with the MNLF.
This article contains a timeline of events from January 2016 to December 2016 related to the IS-linked Abu Sayyaf. This article contains information about the events committed by or on behalf of the Abu Sayyaf, as well as events performed by groups who oppose them.
The following is a list of attacks which have been carried out by Abu Sayyaf, a militant group based in and around Jolo and Basilan islands in the southwestern part of the Philippines, where for more than four decades, Moro groups have been engaged in an insurgency for an independent province in the country.
Dawlah Islamiya, also called Islamic State of Lanao and formerly named as the Maute Group, is a radical Islamist group composed of former Moro Islamic Liberation Front guerrillas and foreign fighters. Based in Lanao del Sur, it was founded by brothers Abdullah and Omar Maute. The organization, which also conducted a protection racket operation in the municipality of Butig, clashes on several occasions with the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the most significant of which began in May 2017 and culminated in the siege of Marawi.
Abu Sayyaf was a radical Sunni Islamist group that has aggressively attacked civilians since the 1990s. It was notorious for beheading both military and civilian captives, especially when kidnap-for-ransom demands are not met. The victims included Filipinos, as well as foreign nationals. Abu Sayyaf primarily operated in western Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago of the southern Philippines.
The siege of Lamitan took place on 2 June 2001 when members of the Islamic terrorist group Abu Sayyaf entered the city of Lamitan, one of two Christian settlements in the predominantly Muslim province of Basilan in the Philippines. They took over a church and a hospital and held priests, medical staff and patients hostage. Government forces surrounded the Muslim extremists, preventing their escape. However, the Abu Sayyaf group managed to break out of the cordon by using their hostages as human shields.
The 2017 Bohol clashes were armed conflicts that took place in April and May 2017 between Philippine security forces and Moro ISIL-affiliated militants led by members of the Abu Sayyaf in Inabanga, Bohol, Philippines. Three Philippine Army soldiers, a policeman, four terrorists and two civilians were killed during the initial firefight. Subsequent firefights between the remaining militants and security forces resulted in the deaths of all the Abu Sayyaf insurgents. A ranking officer of the Philippine National Police linked to Abu Sayyaf attempted to rescue some of the insurgents but was arrested.
This is a chronology of the Moro conflict, an ongoing armed conflict in the southern Philippines between jihadist groups such as the Abu Sayyaf Group, the Maute Group, Jemaah Islamiyah, and Islamic State affiliates, mainstream separatist groups such as the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), and the Philippine Government since 1971. Much of the fighting has been concentrated on the island of Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago, with spillover incidents and attacks occurring in the Philippine capital Manila and neighboring countries such as Malaysia.
