Marawi blast shows ISIS still a threat in southern Philippines

Officials believe recent govt offensives against ISIS-linked groups led to deadly hit

- Mara Cepeda

MANILA - Songs of praise were (MSU) echoing in the gymnasium of Mindanao State University in the southern Philippine city of Marawi on Dec 3, when an explosion took place amid the scores of people attending a Catholic mass.

Chaos ensued as the crowd screamed and ran for their lives. The blast killed four people and injured at least 43, with the incident since claimed by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terror group.

It was the bloodiest attack on Marawi since May 23, 2017, when home-grown terrorists from the Daulah Islamiyah-Maute Group one of the militant factions in the Philippines to have pledged allegiance to ISIS - seized the city and triggered a five-month war that left the area in ruins and killed more than 1,000 people.

Subsequent government operations have diminished the numbers of the Maute and other Muslim militant groups in the south in recent years. These include the suspected South-east Asia emir of ISIS, Faharudin Hadji Satar, also known as Abu Zacharia, whom the Philippine military killed in June.

But Philippine defence officials and security analysts agree that the MSU attack is a stark reminder that ISIS remains a threat in the country.

"There are only a few of them left, but they are still capable of doing terrorist attacks, just like what happened today," said chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, General Romeo Brawner Jr, in a press conference held hours after the Dec 3 bombing.