[Inquirer] The Philippine military said it had teamed up with old enemies behind a long-running Muslim insurgency as it looks to eject a breakaway gang of radical militants pledging loyalty to the Islamic State. As artillery shells and rockets pounded targets in this farming town in Datu Salibo, Maguindanao, soldiers were seen mingling freely with several hundred Moro Islamic Liberation Front fighters who have joined an assault on gunmen here.The joint operation is the latest tactic by the government to try to stamp out pro-IS fighters, after more than three months of battling a separate faction of militants who have besieged Marawi City about 100 kilometers to the north.
Sixth Infantry Division commander Arnel dela Vega said militant groups had taken the opportunity “to build up their forces” while Philippine troops were engaged in Marawi. The alliance with MILF included “providing them with indirect fire support and even air support and other expertise,” he said adding that the awkwardness of fighting alongside former longtime foes had vanished.
The military is feeding intelligence to the MILF in the fight against about 60 militants led by Esmael Abdulmalik alias Abu Turaifi, a former MILF guerrilla leader. But Dela Vega said troops would not merge with the MILF fighting groups because they had “different operational tactics and procedures” in the conflict, which began in early August on marshlands here. He said the deal was a “win-win” situation for both the government and the MILF.
Senior MILF leader Mohagher Iqbal said the breakaway Abu Turaifi-led militants wanted to steal the MILF’s guerrilla army and had the same goals as the pro-IS militant faction seeking to carve out territory in Marawi.