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.
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 four decades, Moro groups have been engaged in an insurgency seeking to make Moro Province independent. The group is considered violent and was responsible for the Philippines' worst terrorist attack, the bombing of MV Superferry 14 in 2004, which killed 116 people. The name of the group is derived from the Arabic abu, and sayyaf. As of April 2023, the group is estimated to have about 20 members, down from 1,250 in 2000. They use mostly improvised explosive devices, mortars and automatic rifles.
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.
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 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.
The Moro conflict was an insurgency in the Mindanao region of the Philippines, which involved multiple armed groups. 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.
Isnilon Totoni Hapilon, also known by the nom de guerreAbu Abdullah al-Filipini, was a Filipino Islamist militant affiliated with ISIS. He was formerly leader of Abu Sayyaf Group, before its battalions pledged their allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. An April 2016 issue of ISIL's weekly newsletter Al Naba said that Hapilon had been appointed as "emir of all Islamic State forces in the Philippines".
Radullan Sahiron is a Moro Islamic militant who is the leader of Abu Sayyaf. He is said to have taken command of the organization following the death of Khadaffy Janjalani in September 2006.
The 2007 Basilan beheading incident was an armed incident in July 2007 between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels and the Philippine Army which led to the execution of 14 or 23 members of the Philippine Marines, amongst them 11 beheaded in the province of Basilan in the southern Philippines.
Cecilia Victoria Oreña-Drilon, simply known as Ces Drilon, is a Filipino broadcast journalist. She presented news and public affairs programs for the News and Current Affairs division of ABS-CBN Corporation from 1989 to 2020. She is currently the host of the nationally syndicated afternoon public service program Basta Promdi, Lodi via RMN-DZXL in Metro Manila and in key cities in the Philippines.
The civil conflict in the Philippines as of February 2019, consists of an insurgency pitting government forces against Maoist rebels, that began in 1969 during the rule of Ferdinand Marcos.
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.
Aliguay is an island in the Philippines, and a barangay of Dapitan. The island is an established marine sanctuary. The island is surrounded by white sand beaches and coral reefs. There are no water sources on the island. A few residents live on Aliguay Island, mostly selling fish to tourists.
The cross border attacks in Sabah are a series of cross border terrorist attacks perpetrated by Moro pirates from Mindanao, Philippines, in the state of Sabah, Malaysia, that began even before the British colonial period. Many civilians have died or suffered during these incidents, causing an increase in anti-Filipino sentiment among the native peoples of Sabah, especially after major attacks in 1985, 2000 and 2013. The attacks were more intense during the presidential terms of Diosdado Macapagal and Ferdinand Marcos, who supported irredentist claims to include eastern Sabah as part of the Philippines territory. In addition, recent infiltration and attacks by militants as well as uncontrolled human migration from Mindanao to Sabah has led to more unease sentiments among the local residents of Sabah, with around 78% of prison inmates that were caught in the state due to involvement in criminal activities and lawlessness issues mainly originating from the southern Philippines.
The Battle of Tipo-Tipo was a military engagement that began on 9 April 2016 at Tipo-Tipo, Basilan Island, Philippines between forces of the Philippine Army and members of the Abu Sayyaf militant group. The battle resulted in dozens of casualties, with at least 18 soldiers and 31 militants reported killed, and more than 70 others injured. It was the largest single loss of life for the Philippine Army since the beginning of the year, and came just a day after the group had released an Italian hostage.
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.
Abu Sayyaf (ASG) is a radical Sunni Islamist group that has aggressively attacked civilians since the 1990s. It is notorious for beheading both military and civilian captives, especially when kidnap-for-ransom demands are not met. ASG victims include Filipino citizens as well as foreign nationals. Abu Sayyaf primarily operates in western Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago of the southern Philippines.
The Summer 2016Sulu and Basilan clashes were armed conflicts that took place in two battlefronts on the southern islands of Mindanao, Philippines from 21 June to 12 July.
The Philippines is one of the state opponents of the militant group, Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), more commonly referred to by the local media as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
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.
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.
The 2008 Maimbung kidnappings were a terrorist incident in the Philippines in June 2008, where ABS-CBN journalist Ces Drilon and news cameramen Jimmy Encarnacion and Angelo Valderrama were abducted in Sulu by al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf militants.
