Abu Sayyaf, officially known by the Islamic State as the Islamic State – East Asia Province, is a Jihadist militant and pirate group that followed 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.
Sulu, officially the Province of Sulu, is a province of the Philippines in the Sulu Archipelago.
Patikul, officially the Municipality of Patikul, is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Sulu, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 79,564 people. The provincial capitol and offices are located in this municipality.
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.
Jovito Salvaña Palparan Jr. is a retired Army general, former politician, and a convicted criminal. From July 2003 to July 2004, he was the commander of the Philippine Humanitarian Contingent in the Iraq War. He also served as a Congressman representing the Bantay party-list group in the 14th Congress of the Philippines.
Delfin C. Castro was a major general of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. He was the commander of the AFP Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), from 1981 to 1986. Notable incidents during his tenure include the Pata Island massacre, the assassination of Zamboanga City Mayor Cesar Climaco, the rescue of kidnapped Bishop Federico O. Escaler from Muslim rebels and the strafing of the Japanese vessel Hegg by Philippine Air Force fighters off Mindanao.
Formal peace negotiations between the Government of the Philippines and the various armed groups involved in the Moro conflict began in 1976 when the Philippine government and the Moro National Liberation Front first met to negotiate towards the 1976 Tripoli Agreement, and most recently reached a major milestone in the ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) through a plebiscite in 2018, leading to the creation of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. However, conflicts with other smaller armed groups continue to exist.
Bangsamoro, officially the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, is an autonomous region in the Philippines, located in the southwestern portion of the island of Mindanao.
Emmanuel Trinidad Bautista is a Filipino general who served as the 44th Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines as he succeeded Gen. Jessie Dellosa as AFP Chief. He served as the Executive Director of the Cabinet Cluster on Security, Justice, and Peace at the Office of the President, Malacañang. His appointment as Undersecretary at the Office of the President was from 1 September 2014 to 22 June 2020 shortly after retirement from the military service as Chief of Staff, Armed Forces of the Philippines. Concurrently, he headed the National Task Force on the Whole of Nation Initiative and was also the executive Director of the National Task Force on the West Philippine Sea. He was succeeded by Gregorio Pio Catapang as AFP chief.
Battle of Basilan was a military offensive launched by the Philippine military to apprehend two lead commanders in the Abu Sayyaf Islamic militia wanted for corruption, money laundering, and terrorism related charges. The main cause of the operation was Sayyaf leader Indama and his followers threatening and attempting to extort money from a circumferential road network. The two-day offensive ended with both suspects evading capture and the island of Basilan falling under government authority. Both the army and MNLF collaborated in fighting alongside for a duration of the operation the first such instance since a truce. However collaborators within the Sayyaf militia included members of the MNLF who sympathized with their cause or had public relations with some of the militants.
The history of the Philippine Army began in during pre-colonial era as different tribes established their own citizen force to defend the Balangays from intruders. Army was organized forces through the years who fought Spanish oppression and even other invaders such as Dutch and British who attempted to conquer the Philippines in early centuries.
The battle of Jolo, also referred to as the burning of Jolo or the siege of Jolo, was a military confrontation between the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the government of the Philippines in February 1974 in the municipality of Jolo, in the southern Philippines.
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.
The Pata Island massacre refers to an event that took place on February 12, 1981, on Pata Island, Sulu province in the Philippines. More than 100 Philippine Army officers and men were killed by Moro natives in what was called by retired Major General Delfin Castro as "the biggest number of casualties incurred by the Armed Forces of the Philippines in a single incident since the start of the conflict in Mindanao and had the dubious distinction of achieving the biggest losses in AFP firearms and equipment in a single incident." An estimated 3,000 Tausug civilians, including women and children, were killed in months of shelling by military forces in 1982 and was tagged as the Pata Island massacre.
The 2001 rebellion of the Moro National Liberation Front Misuari faction against the Philippine government during the presidency of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was led by Nur Misuari, the founder of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF). It began on November 19, 2001, when members of a faction of the MNLF loyal to Misuari attacked a Philippine Army headquarters in Jolo, Sulu in the Philippines. The attack was meant to disrupt the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao elections scheduled for November 26 of that year, which eventually replaced Misuari as governor.
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.
The 11th Infantry Division, Philippine Army, also called the Alakdan Division, is one of the Philippine Army's infantry units in Mindanao. Currently still forming, the Division is expected to complete its equipment and manpower requirements by 2022. It is the youngest of all the infantry divisions of the Army and will have 4,500 troops when fully formed.
In the morning of January 27, 2019, two bombs exploded at the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Jolo, Sulu, Philippines. Twenty people were killed and 102 others injured. The bombings took place a week after the autonomy plebiscite held on January 21 for the creation of Bangsamoro. It is believed that the Abu Sayyaf carried out the attacks, and the Islamic State claimed responsibility. President Rodrigo Duterte responded by issuing an "all-out war" directive against the Abu Sayyaf. The bombings were widely condemned by other countries and organizations.
Hatib Hajan Sawadjaan was a Filipino militant affiliated with the Abu Sayyaf. He was the leader of the group which has associated itself with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) since 2014. On July 6, 2020, Hajan Sawadjaan was severely wounded during an encounter with the government troops in Barangay Bakong, Patikul, Sulu and died from his injuries a few days later. After the encounter with the government troops, he was found and buried by the group of his cousin Mundi Sawadjaan, an Abu Sayyaf sub-leader.
The 2020 Jolo bombings occurred on August 24, 2020, when insurgents alleged to be jihadists from the Abu Sayyaf group detonated two bombs in Jolo, Sulu, Philippines, killing 14 people and wounding 75 others. The first occurred as Philippine Army personnel were assisting in carrying out COVID-19 humanitarian efforts. The second, a suicide bombing, was carried out near the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cathedral.
Philippine Army 
Moro National Liberation Front