Islamist Insurgency and Terrorism Report – January 2025
PSA Intelligence recorded six Islamist insurgency-related violent incidents. There were four armed encounters, one ambush attack, and one bombing incident.
In January 2025, PSA recorded six Islamist-related violent incidents. Of these incidents, three were attributed to other militants or unidentified individuals. Two were categorized as armed encounters initiated by the military against Maute members, while one incident was attributed to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Among the notable incidents this month was the January 22 MILF attack against military troops in Basilan province that killed two soldiers, two militants, and injured at least 12 others. The soldiers were reportedly on their way to provide security for a team from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) during a community engagement when the incident occurred. No UNDP representatives or civilians were hurt by the incident.
The incident in Basilan province potentially suggests some lapses in the implementation of the 2014 peace agreement between the government and the MILF, particularly on the entry of government troops in MILF communities. The military maintains that they coordinated the government troops’ security mission ahead of time, while MILF officials note that no prior coordination was made and that the troops still insisted on passing through. Both the Philippine government and the MILF are keen on de-escalating tensions in the area and have sent their respective delegations to investigate the matter.
Meanwhile, PSA expects to record more violent incidents that are potentially election related or criminally motivated as the midterm elections approaches. These incidents may overlap with violent incidents tagged to Islamist militants.
Beginning January 2025, PSA will record Other Militant Group as the target of government initiated military encounters to differentiate between offensives initiated by government security forces and violent attacks perpetrated by Islamist groups that led to an armed encounter. This modification in PSA’s database is not expected to affect the nature of the recorded incidents but would help analysts provide a more grounded assessment of the existing tactics and techniques of the Islamist insurgency militants, particularly in Mindanao.
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