The military said Tuesday ISIS-inspired extremists that laid siege in the southern city of Marawi remain "leaderless" despite reports that Malaysian militant Amir Baco is the new emir of the group in Southeast Asia.
READ: 'Marwan student targeted in Mamasapano operation is new IS emir'
Maute fighters could not even form a sizable group to affect the security situation in the area and most of the remaining stragglers are fighting for survival, said Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesperson Maj. Gen. Restituto Padilla.
"We still subscribe to the belief that the group is now leaderless, directionless and most of the stragglers remaining in the area belonging to the group are merely fighting for survival," he told ANC's Dateline Philippines.
The military is now pursuing leads that one of the 11 fatalities in a confrontation on Sunday was Baco, said Padilla.
Baco, who was trained by fellow Malaysian Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan, is believed to have been chosen as the new emir in the region after Isnilon Hapilon was killed by state troops in Marawi.
READ: Hapilon's lair: Copies of Koran, boots, scarves
Philippine National Police Director General Ronald dela Rosa made the revelation on Monday according to information shared by arrested Indonesian terrorist Mohammad Ilham Syahputra.
READ: Indonesian linked to Maute nabbed in Lanao del Sur
However, Padilla said information from Syahputra needs to be further validated because "he has been out of the main battle area for quite some time" and their information that there is no leader for the group is the most recent.
He added, any statement from terrorists should be carefully verified because it could mislead ongoing operations.
After cross-checking Syahputra's statement, Padilla said they believe that there are remaining stragglers in the buildings they have not yet cleared.
"We are making sure that all those buildings are properly cleared so that we leave no stone unturned for any remaining member of the group to escape from the area and create havoc in other area in the future," he said.
http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/11/07/17/maute-stragglers-leaderless-directionless-says-military
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