Country Reports on Terrorism 2016 - Foreign Terrorist Organizations: Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG)

aka al Harakat al Islamiyya (the Islamic Movement)

Description: The Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) was designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization on October 8, 1997. The ASG split from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in the early 1990s and has since become the most violent terrorist group in the Philippines. The group claims to promote an independent Islamic state in western Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago.

Activities: The ASG has committed kidnappings-for-ransom, bombings, ambushes of security personnel, public beheadings, assassinations, and extortion. In April 2000, an ASG faction kidnapped 21 people, including 10 Western tourists, from a resort in Malaysia. In May 2001, the group kidnapped three U.S. citizens and 17 Philippine citizens from a tourist resort in Palawan, Philippines; several hostages were murdered, including U.S. citizen Guillermo Sobero. A hostage rescue operation in June 2002 freed U.S. hostage Gracia Burnham; her husband, U.S. national Martin Burnham was killed during the operation. In October 2002, Philippine and U.S. authorities blamed the ASG for a bombing near a military base in Zamboanga that killed a U.S. soldier, and in February 2004, the ASG bombed SuperFerry 14 in Manila Bay, killing 116 people. On July 28, 2014, ASG militants armed with assault rifles opened fire on civilians celebrating the end of Ramadan, killing at least 21 people – including six children and at least four members of a Talipao security force – and wounding 11 others.

In a July 2014 video, senior ASG leader and Federal Bureau of Investigation most-wanted terrorist Isnilon Hapilon swore allegiance to ISIS and ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Since then, several ASG and other violent extremist factions have also pledged allegiance to ISIS. Hapilon is now thought to be the leader of all ISIS-affiliated groups in the Philippines.

Throughout 2015, the ASG was responsible for multiple attacks, including the February abduction of a 73-year-old Korean businessman (freed after 10 days in captivity) in Lanao del Sur and the May kidnappings of two civilians, two Philippine Coast Guard personnel, and a Philippine city official during various incidents; some of these hostages were later beheaded. In September, the ASG was blamed for the armed abduction of two Canadians, a Norwegian, and a Philippine woman from the Holiday Oceanview Samal Resort on Samal Island. The ASG set ransom at US $60 million. In 2016, the two Canadian citizens were beheaded when ransom deadlines were not met.

The group continued its kidnapping-for-ransom operations in 2016, collecting approximately US $7.3 million during the first six months of the year.

Strength: The ASG is estimated to have 400 members.

Location/Area of Operation: Primarily in the Philippine provinces of the Sulu Archipelago – namely Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi – and on the Zamboanga Peninsula. The group has also conducted cross-border operations into eastern Malaysia.

Funding and External Aid: The ASG is funded through kidnapping-for-ransom operations and extortion. It may receive funding from external sources, including remittances from supportive overseas Philippine workers and Middle East-based sympathizers. In the past, the ASG has also received assistance from regional terrorist groups such as Jemaah Islamiya, whose operatives have provided training to ASG members and have helped facilitate several ASG terrorist attacks.

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