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The Islamic State claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing at a military checkpoint in Lamitan, a town in Basilan Province, Philippines. At least 10 people were killed and several others wounded in the blast, according to early press reports. The so-called caliphate posted a photo of the kamikaze, who is identified as Abu Kathir al-Maghrebi (seen above).
The alias of the kamikaze indicates that he is from the Maghreb and probably Moroccan. Indeed, the pro-Islamic channels of the State Telegram said that the "martyr" came from Morocco.
According to CNN, military officials accused the group Abu Sayyaf's explosion. But this is not inconsistent with the claim of the Islamic State, as Abu Sayyaf group leaders and several of the group's "battalions" have previously sworn allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The Abu Sayyaf Group, formerly part of al-Qaida's international network, helped the Islamic State to develop in Southeast Asia, allowing the self-proclaimed Caliphate to access its networks. local.
However, the suicide bomber responsible for the blast was not local – at least not according to the Islamic State media team.
The United Nations has already warned that the Philippines has become a destination for foreign fighters after the Islamic State captured the city of Marawi in May 2017. Marawi's takeover was orchestrated by the group Maute, another local jihadist organization. fueled the expansion of the so-called caliphate in the region. Despite Marawi's loss of control several months later, ISIS remained a threat in the Philippines.
Marawi "has emerged as a great symbolic and propaganda victory for" the Islamic State, warned the UN in a report released last January. The "affiliates" of the group have "managed to occupy an urban area and, according to the Member States, the threat [Islamic State] for the Philippines persists despite the end of the siege and the death of senior leaders".
Citing its United members, the UN warned that Marawi's headquarters "could have long-term repercussions on the region and serve as inspiration for other activists" because advertising value of the seat "was significant. The UN added that the siege had fueled "calls for foreign terrorist fighters to emigrate to the region."
The attack today showed that the Islamic State retains an operational branch in the Philippines despite significant leadership losses and other setbacks. The organization could also maintain important links with the mother ship of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. In April, for example, the US Treasury Department sanctioned a woman facilitator for the group named Myrna Mabanza. According to the Treasury, Mabanza served as an "intermediary" between the jihadists in the Philippines and their comrades in Syria. [See Report of the Long War Journal of the FDD, Facilitator of Sanctions Against the Philippine Treasury.]
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