A Divided Leadership: What Do ISIS Groups Look Like in East Asia?

Posted to Akhbaralaan in Arabic (Mar 28, 2022): A Divided Leadership: What Do ISIS Groups Look Like in East Asia? (Translated from Arabic)

The most prominent contenders for the leadership of ISIS in East Asia... Who are they? Uncle Pat and Modzimar "Mendy" Swadgan?

English translation: 

A Divided Leadership: What Do ISIS Groups Look Like in East Asia?

In late January, the Malaysian East Sabah Security Command, known as "ISCOM", announced the addition of 5 leaders affiliated with ISIS in East Asia, to its wanted list, revealing that they played a prominent role in leading transnational terrorist networks. They were involved in kidnappings and ransoms, in which armed groups are involved in that geographical spot, which is one of the most important sources of funding for terrorist groups there.

The Malaysian security leadership revealed details related to the leadership of groups affiliated with ISIS in East Asia, but it did not address the details of the leadership disputes and divisions taking place among the ranks of ISIS supporters in that region, nor did it shed light on the relationship of these differences to the surrender of fighters from ISIS-linked groups to the security forces. In East Asia, especially in the Philippines, which is addressed in the current report.

According to the information of the East Sabah Security Command, the five leaders, led by Mudzrimar "Mundi" Sawadjaan and (Majid Saeed or his uncle Madjid Said/ Amah Patit), participate in directing and leading armed groups, which emerged mainly from the heart of The Abu Sayyaf group pledged allegiance to ISIS in Iraq and Syria, and became known as the "Soldiers of the Caliphate in East Asia".

Although the information that the Malaysian security command mentioned about the five terrorist leaders, it was content with referring to their role within the framework of the “Soldiers of the Caliphate in East Asia” groups, an examination of the available information about these groups reveals many details about the internal dynamics of the ISIS branch in the region, which He emerged remarkably after his control of the city of Marawi (the capital of the Lanao del Sur province, on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines), in mid-2017, before the Filipino forces were able to expel him from it later.

It is clear from the decision to include the five terrorists on the wanted list, that most of them belong to the "Islamic State - Sulu", a jihadist group concentrated in the "Sulu" archipelago (southwest of the Philippines), and linked to ISIS, with a number of other jihadist groups, including the "Isnilon Teutonic" group. Isnilon Totoni Hapilon, who split with him from the Abu Sayyaf group, before he was killed in the battle of Marawi in 2017, and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), as well as the “Lanao Islamic State” group known as the “Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF)” group. Maute, and the Ansar al-Khilafa in the Philippines.

The most prominent contenders for the leadership of ISIS in East Asia... Who are his uncle Pat and Mudzimar "Mendy" Sawadjan?

Isnilon Totoni Hapilon's picture "at the far right" - Al Nabaa Weekly

However, the “Islamic State in Sulu” group, despite its formal affiliation with the “Caliphate Soldiers in East Asia”, did not fully agree with the rest of the jihadist groups about the general leadership/emirate of the ISIS branch and the mechanism of armed action, especially in the period following the killing of “Isnilon Totoni” Isnilon Totoni Hapilon, as "Hatib Hajan Sawadjaan" declared himself the emir of the ISIS branch, without being approved by the central organization in Iraq and Syria, while other groups affiliated with ISIS chose "Owaida Marohombsar" nicknamed "Abu" The house of Abu Dar” and the companion “Habilon” who appeared next to him (to his right) in pictures circulated by the ISIS weekly Al-Naba during the battle of Marawi - their emir, and it seems that the latter succeeded in acquiring the support of the majority of the groups in addition to the support of the central organization, and he became “the prince of the soldiers of the Caliphate in East Asia” This is confirmed by data from the Philippine military.

The most prominent contenders for the leadership of ISIS in East Asia... Who are his uncle Pat and Mudzimar "Mendy" Sawadjan?

A picture of "Owaida Marohombsar" (Owaida Marohombsar - Abu Dar)

The differences between the jihadist groups affiliated with ISIS in East Asia do not seem strange, given the nature of these groups and their fighting path that preceded their joining ISIS. The group is divided into smaller jihadist groups, each operating independently.

The establishment of ISIS for its spatial caliphate in Iraq and Syria in 2014, motivated many of these jihadi groups to declare their allegiance/loyalty to it, in order to take advantage of this loyalty to strengthen their presence and attract new fighters, taking advantage of the association with a globalized jihadist organization, especially since that period It witnessed great competition between the various jihadist groups, especially the smaller groups, including: the Ansar al-Khilafa in the Philippines (AKS), the Islamic Caliphate in Mindanao (KIM), and the Bangsa Moro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF).

In turn, ISIS did not accept these pledges publicly for a long time, and was forced to accept them in 2016, after it suffered major setbacks in Syria, Iraq and Libya and its main strongholds were besieged, seeking to preserve its jihadist brand based on the idea of ​​“survival and expansion” by exploiting protracted conflicts and groups local jihadism.

Conflicting leadership

However, declaring allegiance to ISIS did not resolve the competition and conflict between jihadist groups in East Asia, as each group continued to operate independently, even though they belonged, in nominal terms, to one entity, the "Soldiers of the Caliphate in East Asia", which is supposed to be Part of the global ISIS network.

In 2017, ISIS was able to temporarily jump over these differences by choosing Isnilon Teutonic Hapilon, emir of what it described as the “caliphate soldiers in East Asia,” according to the ISIS official newspaper, Al-Naba Weekly, but the organization imposed its own agenda and strategy on those groups. The jihadism, and his assignment to them to “hold the land” and the declaration of an ISIS spatial mandate in Marawi, indirectly contributed to the intensification of the leadership competition between the jihadi groups there, after the killing of a large number of leaders of those groups, including “Habilon” and his potential successor, “Mahmoud Ahmed.” The famous Malaysian jihadist who was expected to lead ISIS after the killing of his predecessor, in addition to Omarkayam (Omar) Maute, and Abdullah Maute, the leaders of the "Islamic State of Lanao" group known as the "Maute" group, which had the most prominent role in control of Marawi City.

As a result of the absence of a unified leadership, the conflict raged between the leaders of the various jihadist groups over who leads the ISIS branch in East Asia, and the conflict focused between groups loyal to Hatib Hajan Sawadjan, and their counterparts affiliated with "Awaidah Maruhambasir".

"Sawadjan" succeeded in obtaining the support of about 5 or 6 sub-groups of groups that pledged allegiance to ISIS, most notably the "Ajang-Ajang" group, which carried out the bombings of the Catholic cathedral in Jolo on the island of Mindanao. Abu Dar" for supporting other groups numbering a few hundred fighters, according to official Philippine estimates.

Despite the existence of a state of leadership duplicity within groups affiliated with ISIS in East Asia, the central leadership of the organization avoided declaring a general emir after the killing of "Isnilon Habilon", and contented itself with adopting the terrorist attacks and operations launched by jihadist groups in the region, without referring to a unified leadership of those She describes them as "the soldiers of the caliphate".

The most prominent contenders for the leadership of ISIS in East Asia... Who are his uncle Pat and Mudzimar "Mendy" Sawadjan?

Abyss fight

Family ties in the leadership struggle in “ISIS East Asia”

With a closer look at the leadership dynamics within the jihadist groups affiliated with ISIS in East Asia, it becomes clear that the factor of loyalty and family ties has a prominent role in the rise of the emirs of these groups and the annexation of these groups. 

The fighters’ loyalty to them, in light of the leadership competition taking place between the emirs of jihadist groups, for many considerations, including personal relationships and loyalties.

 For example, family kinship played a role in consolidating Hatib Hagan Sawadgan’s leadership of the groups that pledged allegiance to him, especially since he comes from a family with a long history of jihadist work on the Philippine islands of Mindanao. These ties also contributed to the emergence of his brother’s son, Mundi Sawadjan, known as “Mudzrimar” Mundi. "Sawadjaan", whose importance has increased since his uncle took over the emirate of some ISIS groups, in 2018, until now.

It is clear that the leadership disputes over the supreme leadership of the "caliphate soldiers in East Asia", which appeared more clearly, after the killing of "Isnilon Hapilon", the first emir of ISIS in the region - in 2017, are still continuing until now, especially between the groups that were She is affiliated with "Hatib Hajan Sawadjan", and her counterpart is affiliated with "Awaidah Marwa Basir - Abu Dar".

It seems that the current disputes - which have not been given much focus so far given the secret nature of these groups and the scarcity of accurate information available about them - are concentrated between a group of sub-princes, who rose in the leadership ladder after the killing of the historical and prominent leaders of jihadist groups in East Asia.

Among the most prominent current leaders of jihadist groups affiliated with ISIS in East Asia, "Madjid Said -Amah Patit", who the Malaysian security authorities believe, is the de-facto emir of the "Islamic State of Sulu".

The data of the Philippine security services indicate that "Hatib Majid Saeed / his uncle Bat" was one of the former leaders of the "Abu Sayyaf" group, before he joined ISIS, around 2016 (after establishing the spatial caliphate).

The emir of the "Islamic State in Sulu" group comes from a family that engaged in armed action, years ago, although a number of them had already surrendered to the Philippine army earlier. whether.

Perhaps the previous experience of "Hatib Majid Saeed / his uncle Bat" in the terrorist act that spanned for years within the "Abu Sayyaf" group, and his relatively old age, was one of the factors that favored him to lead the "Islamic State in Sulu" group, because the local jihadist groups in East Asia It is often preferred to choose relatively older leaders to take over the emirate, according to Zam Yusa, a Malaysian researcher specializing in violent extremism in East Asia.

Within the framework of the same group (the Islamic State in Solo), "Mendy Sawadjan" is currently considered one of the most important current leaders of the group, and according to the information available about him, he leads a splinter subgroup of the Abu Sayyaf group and is currently loyal to ISIS, called "Ajang" Ajang, which consists of about 40 fighters, according to Philippine police estimates, and used his experience in the manufacture of explosives to carry out coordinated terrorist attacks on the island of Mindanao, the most dangerous of which were the Jolo cathedral attack in 2019, and the double attack that occurred in the city of Sulu in August / August 2019, killing and wounding dozens.

"Mandi Sawadjan" succeeded, during the past years, in gaining great momentum in the terrorist act, benefiting from his combat experience in the manufacture and launching of attacks with explosives, as well as from the family ties that link him to a number of former and current leaders of jihadist groups in East Asia, led by Hatib Hajan Sawadjan. , who was killed in 2020, and Sawadjaan Mujimar, nicknamed "Rasad", who is on the most wanted list previously announced by the East Sabah Security Command.

Between division and surrender

In contrast to the plurality and duplicity of leadership in the “Islamic State in Sulu” group, differences persist between that group with its different leaders and other jihadist groups, most notably the “Islamic State of Lanao” group or the “Maute” group, which is one of the largest groups loyal to ISIS, at the present time. It includes hundreds of fighters.

The "Islamic State of Lanao" / Maute group chose to pledge allegiance to "Abu Zakaria", known as "Jir Mimbantas", and "Faharudin Hadji Satar", "Faharudin Hadji Satar", as the emir of the "Caliphate Soldiers in East Asia". This is confirmed by the Philippine military.

Abu Zakaria was one of the prominent activists in the "Islamic State of Lanao" group, and took over the emirate of the group after the killing of "Awida Maruhambasir - Abu Dar", in March 2019, and "Abu Zakaria" sought to restore organizational networks affiliated with ISIS in East Asia. And to attract and train new fighters inside his camp, in the small town of Magueng, east of Lake Lanao (in the heart of Mindanao Island), before he was forced to flee from it, during the past weeks, after a military campaign led by the Philippine army to target him.

Although the "Islamic State of Lanao" groups in the Emirate of "Abu Zakaria", the "Islamic State in Sulu" led by "Majid Saeed / Amma Bat", and the "Ajang Ajang Group" led by "Mandi Sawadjan" were subjected to a focused targeting campaign by The Philippine military and security forces, however, these groups remained operating separately and independently from each other, implying that the divisions that strike the jihadist groups in East Asia loyal to ISIS will persist and the organization’s attempts to merge these groups into one entity will not succeed.

While the emirs of ISIS groups in East Asia are preoccupied with the divisions and leadership conflicts between them, the elements of these groups continue to withdraw from the scene and surrender to the Philippine army and security forces, as happened recently when about 40 jihadists surrendered on the island of Mindanao and laid down their arms after years of terrorist act, stressing that preserving their lives It is better than staying within those groups whose leaders are preoccupied with their struggles to gain influence and control over the bodies and blood of their followers. 

https://www.akhbaralaan.net/news/special-reports/2022/03/