Maute-ISIS recruitment still going on, says AFP

From Malaya Business Insight (May 16): Maute-ISIS recruitment still going on, says AFP

THE Armed Forces yesterday said the Maute-ISIS group continues to recruit and regroup, nearly a year after they laid siege to Marawi City, leaving over a thousand people dead.

“The information that we have is they are in the process. They are doing that. What we are saying is we have such reports and we are bent on ensuring that they will not succeed,” said AFP spokesman Col. Edgard Arevalo.

After the liberation of Marawi on October 23, the military said the group is recruiting and regrouping, one of the reasons cited for the continued imposition of martial law in Mindanao.

“We are not surprised by those reports because we know they have suffered great loss, great setback. With their intent, as the chief of staff (Gen. Carlito Galvez) was saying that they want to get back and pursue their evil plan, they’re going to regroup and recruit,” said Arevalo.

Arevalo said the Maute-ISIS failed to recruit a “desired number” of members to stage a similar attack.

“We expect that that will continue so they can regroup and put up another attempt as mentioned by the chief of staff. But what we are saying is we are going to exert efforts to ensure that they will stay as they have failed,” he said.

The Maute-ISIS group laid siege to the city on May 23, forcing President Duterte to place Mindanao under martial law. The five-month conflict brought massive destruction to properties and left 974 terrorists, 168 soldiers and policemen, and 47 civilians dead.

On Monday afternoon, Galvez said the military is not letting its guard down against the Maute-ISIS Group. “I believe it would take years for Marawi incident to happen again,” said Galvez.

“They have been weakened, greatly weakened with the success that we had in Marawi. The enemy has been weakened (but) we cannot stay complacent,” Galvez said, adding the military is “very confident” with its current counter-terrorism efforts.

On the series of ISIS-inspired bombings in Indonesia on Sunday and Monday that left 13 people dead, Arevalo said those attacks are “something that civilized nations would condemn.”

Arevalo said the Philippine military is expressing its condolences and sympathies to the victims of the attacks, which targeted churches.

“On our part in the AFP, we are implementing, not only because of this incident, our own measures, efforts to ensure that no terrorist attack or activity, similar to that in Indonesia, will happen here,” said Arevalo. 

http://www.malaya.com.ph/business-news/news/maute-isis-recruitment-still-going-says-afp