Malaysian Militant Still Alive in Marawi: Philippine Military

A Malaysian who was among the key planners of a deadly siege by IS-inspired militants in the southern city of Marawi is believed to be alive and fighting with a dwindling enemy force, the Philippine military said Thursday.

Mahmud Ahmad, a university professor-turned-militant from Malaysia, has eluded government troops and dug in along with Filipinos Isnilon Hapilon and Omarkhayyam Maute, regional military chief Lt. Gen. Carlito Galvez said.

Hapilon is the acknowledged leader of the Abu Sayyaf and the Philippine branch of the extremist group Islamic State (IS), and Maute is the last of several brothers who allegedly led planning for the siege.

“Mahmud is alive along with Hapilon and Omar. But our troops are determined to neutralize them as we are making our final push,” Galvez said, adding that getting Mahmud was a priority.

Mahmud is described as the “money man” who financed the Marawi attack who trained at al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan in the 1990s while studying at Islamabad Islamic University, the Filipino military said. He is a former lecturer of Islamic studies at the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur, one of the top universities in Malaysia.

Apart from Mahmud, six to eight foreign militants are on the frontline, Galvez said.

Earlier this week, the military reported that Mahmud’s right-hand man, Muham­mad Joraimee Awang Raimee, was killed along with 15 militants in aerial bombings in Marawi.

Col. Romeo Brawner Jr., deputy commander of Joint Task Group Ranao, told BenarNews that government forces were closing in on enemy positions and attempting to rescue more than 40 civilian hostages held by the gunmen.

Brawner said the death toll on the government side had reached 160, while 811 enemy fighters had been killed in the battle that has lasted nearly five months.

“Among the decomposing cadavers are suspected foreign terrorists,” Brawner said.

He said government forces had found tunnels and underground escape routes dug by the gunmen and troops were clearing them of landmines.

Richel V. Umel in Iligan City, Philippines, contributed to this report.