AFP chief: Indonesians, Malaysian among fatalities in clash with Maute

The military on Monday has confirmed that three Indonesians and a Malaysian national were among those killed when troops raided a camp of the Maute group in Piagapo, Lanao del Sur last week.

Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff General Eduardo Año said the foreigners, who belonged to extremist group Jemaah Islamiah, were among the 14 bodies identified by the military out of the 37 they killed following days of sporadic firing in Barangay Gacap.

"We inflicted about 37 enemy killed, 14 have been identified and 23 still unidentified, with three Indonesians and one Malaysian, mga JI ito and now they are calling themselves as ISIS-inspired," Año said.

Although the military has yet to identify their names, Año said the foreign nationals were confirmed through "intelligence and through eye witness accounts" before they were recovered and buried by their comrades.

Intelligence reports said the foreigners have been in Lanao del Sur for a while already, initially being members of JI, according to Año.

Año said after the JI membership dwindled, the Maute family absorbed the group's remaining member and has since worked with Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon in establishing a "wilayat" or provincial ISIS territory.

"Yung Malaysian saka Indonesians dati na sila doon. They are still part of the JI before, na nagpalit na sila ng pangalan nung halos nawala sa existence yung JI, and then made other affiliations," Año said.

"The Maute family took over these remnants of the JI and they call themselves the Maute group and aligned themselves with Hapilon with the hope that they will be recognized as one wilayat," he added.

Año also mentioned reports of several Arab personalities entering Lanao del Sur. He, however, said these cannot be directly linked to ISIS.

"We have monitored one or two Arabs in the area but we cannot really confirm if they are really ISIS personalities," Año said.

The AFP chief said Arab nationals often visit the province to embark on religious teachings about Islam. 

"Before naman may mga Arab na nagpupunta dun e, on the pretext of building foundation or teaching some religious teachings, so hindi pa natin masabi," Año said.

He, nonetheless, assured the military would continue looking for foreigners linked with terror groups. "It's part of the intelligence tasking to look for foreigners who are inclined to support or to be affiliated with our local terror groups," he said. — Joseph Tristan Roxas/MDM, GMA News