Battle of Marawi

The Battle of Marawi (Filipino: Labanan sa Marawi), also known as the Marawi siege (Filipino: Pagkubkob sa
Marawi)[36] and the Marawi crisis (Filipino: Krisis sa Marawi),[37] was a five-month-long armed conflict in Marawi, Lanao del
Sur, that started on 23 May 2017, between Philippine government security forces and militants affiliated with the Islamic
State of Iraq and the Levant(ISIL), including the Maute and Abu Sayyaf Salafi jihadist groups.[38] The battle also became
the longest urban battle in the modern history of the Philippines.[25]
According to the Philippine government, the clashes began during an offensive in Marawi to capture Isnilon Hapilon, the
leader of the ISIL-affiliated Abu Sayyaf group, after receiving reports that Hapilon was in the city, possibly to meet with
militants of the Maute group.[39][40] A deadly firefight erupted when Hapilon's forces opened fire on the combined Army and
police teams and called for reinforcements from the Maute group, an armed group that pledged allegiance to the Islamic
State and which is believed to be responsible for the 2016 Davao City bombing, according to military spokesmen.[41]
Maute group militants attacked Camp Ranao and occupied several buildings in the city, including Marawi City
Hall, Mindanao State University, a hospital and the city jail.[41] They also occupied the main street and set fire to Saint
Mary's Cathedral, Ninoy Aquino School and Dansalan College, run by the United Church of Christ in the
Philippines (UCCP).[39][42] The militants also took a priest and several churchgoers hostage.[43]
The Armed Forces of the Philippines stated that some of the terrorists were foreigners who had been in the country for a
long time, offering support to the Maute group in Marawi. Their main objective was to raise an ISIL flag at the Lanao del
Sur Provincial Capitol and declare a wilayat or provincial ISIL territory in Lanao del Sur.[44][45]
On 17 October 2017, the day after the deaths of militant leaders Omar Maute and Isnilon
Hapilon, President Duterte declared Marawi was "liberated from terrorist influence".[46] Then on 23 October 2017, Defense
Secretary Delfin Lorenzana announced that the five-month battle against the terrorists in Marawi had finally ended.

Background[edit]
The Maute group had established a stronghold in Lanao del Sur since February 2016 and was blamed for the 2016 Davao
City bombing and two attacks in Butig, Lanao del Sur, a town located south of Marawi, in 2016.[48] Since the militant
group's founding in 2013, the Philippine government has downplayed the threat of ISIS in the Philippines. [49] Following
the February 2016 Butig clash with the Maute group, then-President Benigno Aquino III discounted the possibility of the
Islamic State's presence in the country. He said that those behind the attack were just mercenaries wanting to be
recognized by the Middle East-based terror group.[50]
The Abu Sayyaf group, blamed for deadly bombings and kidnappings in the past, had also pledged allegiance to the
Islamic State movement in the summer of 2014.[51] One of its leaders, Isnilon Hapilon, was listed as among the world's
most wanted terrorists by the US State Department with a reward of up to US$5 million for his capture.[38] Following the
abduction and subsequent beheading of Canadian businessman John Ridsdel in April 2016, Aquino disclosed that he had
received death threats from the jihadist group, and that the Abu Sayyaf also plotted to kidnap his sister Kris, and Manny
Pacquiao.[52][53] Aquino also identified Hapilon behind attempts to convert and recruit inmates at the New Bilibid Prison to
their cause, and embark on a bombing campaign in Metro Manila, which he said was "part of their effort to gain favor with
ISIS."[54]
In November 2016, President Rodrigo Duterte confirmed the Maute group's affiliation with the Islamic State and President
Duterte even revealed that the siege of Marawi City was also related to narcoterrorism. [55] But the Philippine military
maintained that ISIL had not established links with militants in the Philippines. [48] Amidst fierce fighting in Butig on 30
November 2016, Duterte, in a command briefing in Lanao del Sur, warned the Maute group: "Ayaw ko makipag-away sa
inyo. Ayaw ko makipag-patayan, (I do not want a fight with you. I don't want us killing each other) but please, do not force
my hand. I cannot be forever traveling here every month para lang makipag-usap (just to talk), at pagtalikod ko patayan
nanaman (and when I turn around, there's killing again). I do not want to mention anything, but please do not force my
hand into it."[56][57]
On 2 December 2016, as the military regained control of Butig, the retreating Maute fighters reportedly left a note
threatening to behead Duterte and the military.[58] On 12 December 2016, in a speech before the Wallace Business Forum
Dinner, Duterte dared the Maute group to attack Marawi, stating: "Because they (the Maute group) threatened to go down
from the mountains to burn down Marawi? Go ahead, be my guest. We will wait for you there. Walang problema (No
problem)."[59][60]
From April to May 2017, Abu Sayyaf fought in clashes with Philippine security forces in Bohol which resulted in the deaths
of three soldiers, a policeman and ten militants.[61]