MANILA: Ambitious individuals will follow in the footsteps of Isnilon Hapilon and Omar Khayam Maute, the top militant leaders in the Philippines who were killed in an army offensive, security officials said.
Hapilon was the Daesh-designated chief for Southeast Asia, and Maute was a leader of the group that laid siege to Marawi City.
The military continues to monitor parts of Central Mindanao such as Cotabato and Maguindanao, where there are militant groups sympathetic to Daesh. Communities in these areas are reportedly bracing for further battles.
The military and defense departments say these groups do not have the capability to launch attacks similar to what the Maute Group did in Marawi.
“The elimination of Hapilon and the Maute clan’s leadership dealt Daesh a major blow in the country,” Arsenio Andolong, Department of National Defense (DND) spokesman, told Arab News.
“They still have supporters who are at large, but given the decimation of their leadership structure in the Philippines, we doubt they can muster the same number of forces that they did in Marawi,” he said.
“They’re obsessed with promoting the perception that they’re still an entity to be reckoned with, but they’re now in a state of disarray, and we’re actively pursuing them so as not to allow them to consolidate and achieve any cohesion,” he added, referring to Maute remnants.
Andolong said among those who have embraced violent extremism, there will always be those who will look at Hapilon and the Mautes as inspirations.
“This is deeply imbedded in the psyche of those who’ve been radicalized,” he added.
“Even if the battle for Marawi hadn’t happened, there will still be those — Muslim or non-Muslim — who will be lured in and driven by the ideas of violent extremism.”
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman Maj. Gen. Restituto Padilla said following the government’s success in Marawi, Maute’s capacity to launch another major attack has been adequately degraded, and it will take a while for it to regroup and reorganize.
“It won’t be able to launch Marawi-like attacks now or in the near future,” Padilla told Arab News.
But other groups, such as the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) and the Ansarul Khilafah Philippines (AKP) in Central Mindanao, continue to pose a threat, he said.
However, the AFP and other security agencies have been proactive in addressing such threats, he added.
The nature and scale of attacks by these groups would not match what was witnessed in Marawi, Padilla said.
But “the capacity for grenade-throwing incidents, IED (improvised explosive devices) attacks, harassment of military and police areas, and terrorist activities to scare residents of certain communities will continue. The AFP’s focus will be to degrade and neutralize all these groups.”
Padilla said the possibility of lone-wolf attacks cannot be ruled out. “That’s why we’ve constantly called on the public to remain vigilant and cooperate with the authorities.”
Rejecting the claim by security experts that the battle for Marawi might inspire an ambitious new generation of Muslim extremists in Mindanao, he added: “We believe we’ve greatly contributed to facilitating a more stable regional security environment.”
The Marawi crisis has highlighted the need for greater regional cooperation, he said, adding that all foreign fighters in the city had been killed.
But their exact number is hard to determine as “most of the cadavers that have been recovered are beyond recognition.”
Philippine Army anticipates more militant threats after Marawi
Philippine Army anticipates more militant threats after Marawi
Elon Musk joined Trump’s call with Ukraine’s Zelensky, media reports say
- Ukraine's President Zelensky called Trump on Wednesday to congratulate him on his election win, Axios reported
- Trump reportedly said he would support Ukraine, without providing details, and Musk reportedly said he would continue supplying Starlink satellites
WASHINGTON: When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called Donald Trump to congratulate him on his presidential election victory, Tesla CEO and Trump supporter Elon Musk joined the call, according to media reports on Friday. During the 25-minute call on Wednesday, the day after the election, Trump told Zelensky he would support Ukraine, without providing details, and Musk said he would continue supplying Starlink satellites, Axios reported, citing unidentified sources.
Musk owns SpaceX, which provides Starlink satellite communication services that are vital for Ukraine’s defense effort, but his statements have sometimes angered Kyiv since Russia invaded its neighbor in 2022.
Zelensky was telling Trump how important the satellites had been for Internet service during the war when Trump said Musk was with him and put the billionaire on the line, the Washington Post reported.
Trump and Musk were at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Palm Beach residence and club, when the call took place, according to the New York Times.
Musk gave millions of dollars to support Trump’s presidential campaign and made public appearances with him. Trump has said he would offer Musk, the world’s richest person, a role in his administration promoting government efficiency.
Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Trump campaign said it did not comment on private meetings.
Zelensky was among the first leaders to congratulate Trump, who has been critical of US military and financial support for Ukraine in its war with Russia.
Zelensky said in a post on social media platform X on Wednesday that his conversations with Trump should continue.
“We agreed to maintain close dialogue and advance our cooperation. Strong and unwavering US leadership is vital for the world and for a just peace,” the Ukrainian president said.
UK’s Met Police refers itself to watchdog over Al-Fayed probes
- Two women have complained about the police's handling of investigations into alleged sexual abuse by the late Harrods owner Mohamed Al-Fayed
LONDON: The UK’s Metropolitan Police on Friday referred itself to the police watchdog following complaints from two women over its handling of investigations into alleged sexual abuse by late Harrods owner Mohamed Al-Fayed.
The complaints, referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), involve investigations from 2008 and 2013.
They revolve around the quality of the police response and, in the case of the 2013 probe, how details came to be disclosed publicly.
“In recent weeks, two victims-survivors have come forward with concerns about how their allegations were handled when first reported, and it is only appropriate that the IOPC assess these complaints,” said Stephen Clayman, from the Met’s Specialist Crime team.
“Although we cannot change the past, we are resolute in our goal to offer every individual who contacts us the highest standard of service and support,” he added.
More than 400 women and witnesses have come forward in the past six weeks alleging sexual misconduct by Fayed, who died in August last year aged 94.
The allegations follow the airing of a BBC documentary in September that detailed multiple claims of rape and sexual assault by the former owner of the upmarket London department store.
The Justice for Harrods Survivors group said it had received 421 inquiries, mainly related to the store but also regarding Fulham football club, the Ritz Hotel in Paris and other Fayed entities.
The Met said Friday that it was “actively reviewing 21 allegations reported to the Metropolitan Police prior to Mohamed Al-Fayed’s passing... to determine if any additional investigative steps are available or there are things we could have done better.”
India’s Naga separatists threaten to resume violence after decades-long truce
- “The violent confrontation between India and Nagalim shall be purely on account of the deliberate betrayal and breach of commitment by India and its leadership to honor the letter and spirit of Framework Agreement of 2015,” he said
GUWAHATI, India: An armed separatist group in a remote northeast Indian state on Friday threatened to “resume violent armed resistance” after nearly three decades of ceasefire, accusing New Delhi of failing to honor promises in earlier agreements.
The Naga insurgency, India’s oldest, is aimed at creating a separate homeland of Nagalim that unites parts of India’s mountainous northeast with areas of neighboring Myanmar for ethnic Naga people. About 20,000 people have died in the conflict since it began in 1947.
A ceasefire between the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah), a leading separatist group, and Indian security forces has held since it was enforced in 1997 and the group signed an agreement with New Delhi in 2015 toward striking a resolution on their demands.
BACKGROUND
A ceasefire between the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah), a leading separatist group, and Indian security forces has held since it was enforced in 1997.
But talks have stagnated since and in a statement Friday, the group’s chief, Thuingaleng Muivah, accused India of “betrayal of the letter and spirit” of the 2015 agreement.
India’s Interior Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Muivah’s remarks.
In a statement, Muivah urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s federal government to “respect and honor” the 2015 agreement, which he said “officially recognized and acknowledged” the right to a sovereign flag and constitution for the separatists.
Muivah proposed a “third party intervention” to resolve the impasse, threatening that it would resume violence if “such a political initiative was rejected.”
“The violent confrontation between India and Nagalim shall be purely on account of the deliberate betrayal and breach of commitment by India and its leadership to honor the letter and spirit of Framework Agreement of 2015,” he said.
“India and its leadership shall be held responsible for the catastrophic and adverse situation that will arise out of the violent armed conflict between India and Nagalim,” he said.
Comoros arrests suspected key smuggler
- The International Organization for Migration said on Monday that at least 25 people died after the boat was “deliberately capsized by traffickers”
MORONI, Comoros: Police in the Comoros said on Friday they had arrested the alleged leader of a smuggling network involved in the capsizing of a migrant boat that claimed around two dozen lives.
The boat sank on a well-known smuggling route between the Comoros island of Anjouan and the French Indian Ocean archipelago of Mayotte on Nov. 1.
“The smuggling ringleader who owned the capsized boat was arrested on Thursday in Anjouan,” Col. Tachfine Ahmed said.
“He admitted that he owned the boat and bought all the material needed for the trip,” he added, saying the 37-year-old suspect was a resident of Mayotte.
The International Organization for Migration said on Monday that at least 25 people died after the boat was “deliberately capsized by traffickers.”
The Comoros police said they knew of 17 deaths.
Fishermen rescued five survivors who said the boat was carrying around 30 people, including women and young children, the IOM said.
A survivor said the smugglers sank the vessel before fleeing on a speedboat.
Police confirmed the survivor’s account, saying the two smugglers escaped.
“We are actively looking for the two smugglers who got on another boat,” the colonel added.
In addition to homicide charges, the arrested suspect faces up to 10 years imprisonment for belonging to an organized criminal group as well as three years for illegal transport of passengers.
Anjouan is one of three islands in the nation of Comoros, located around 70 km northwest of Mayotte, which became a department of France in 2011.
Despite being France’s poorest department, Mayotte has French infrastructure and welfare, which makes it attractive to migrants from Comoros seeking a better life.
Many pay smugglers to make the dangerous sea crossing in rickety fishing boats known as “kwassa-kwassa.”
UK court awards Manchester bomb victims £45,000 over hoax claims
- Martin Hibbert and his daughter Eve sued Richard Hall over claims made in videos and a book that they were “crisis actors“
- Judge Karen Steyn called Hall’s behavior “a negligent, indeed reckless, abuse of media freedom”
LONDON: Two survivors of the 2017 bomb attack at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, on Friday won £45,000 ($58,000) in damages from a former TV producer who claimed the attack was a hoax.
Martin Hibbert and his daughter Eve sued Richard Hall over claims made in videos and a book that they were “crisis actors” employed by the state as part of an elaborate deception.
Hibbert sustained a spinal cord injury in the attack, and his daughter suffered severe brain damage.
Hall argued that he was acting in the public interest by filming Hibbert’s daughter outside her home, but the High Court in London agreed with Hibbert’s claim for harassment.
Judge Karen Steyn called Hall’s behavior “a negligent, indeed reckless, abuse of media freedom” and on Friday ordered him to pay Hibbert and his daughter each £22,500 in damages.
Hall must also pay 90 percent of their legal costs, currently estimated at £260,000.
“The claimants are both vulnerable. The allegations are serious and distressing,” said the judge.
Jonathan Price, lawyer for the claimants, said that Hall “insisted that the terrorist attack in which the claimants were catastrophically injured did not happen and that the claimants were participants or ‘crisis actors’ in a state-orchestrated hoax, who had repeatedly, publicly and egregiously lied to the public for monetary gain.”
Hibbert welcomed the ruling, adding: “I want this case to open up the door for change, and for it to protect others from what we have been put through.
“It proves and has highlighted... that there is protection within the law, and it sends out a message to conspiracy theorists that you cannot ignore all acceptable evidence and harass innocent people.”
Islamic extremist Salman Abedi, aided by his brother, Hashem Abedi, killed 22 people and injured 1,017 during the suicide bombing at the end of the concert by the US singer.
