Islamist Insurgency and Terrorism Report – June 2025

Five Islamist-related violent incidents were recorded in June 2025, three of which were against government troops, while one was against a local business establishment and another was against civilians in a potential clan violence-related attack. The provinces of Basilan and Maguindanao del Sur each recorded two violent incidents, while one incident occurred in Lanao del Norte during the period.

Two explosive attacks were reported in Lamitan City in Basilan during the period, highlighting the risk of violence against military auxiliary forces and local business owners that are being targeted for extortion-related demands. Local officials and authorities have not associated either of the attacks with the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) or any potential remnants in the province. These incidents, however, underscore the persistence of small scale violence in Basilan as well as in other areas in the Bangsamoro region, which authorities have attributed to localized and possibly criminal threat actors.

Meanwhile, authorities are still looking into the motive behind the grenade attack against a residential area in Maguindanao del Sur that injured two civilians. PSA analysts note that the incident potentially points to a rido or clan-related violence, as it appears that the suspects only targeted certain houses in the area.

In recent updates, military officials issued a warning against warring Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) factions involved in “internal hostilities,” stating that they would face military offensives if they refused to stop fighting and putting civilians’ safety at risk. Analysts note that authorities usually veer away from actions that could backfire where the peace process is concerned, but they seem to be trying to become sterner after another civilian was wounded in the crossfire between warring factions in Maguindanao del Sur in early July.

With the first Bangsamoro Parliamentary polls just three months away, lawmakers have recently made progress on reapportioning Sulu’s parliamentary district seats, but Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) leaders opposed this recent development because they are trying “to have the province reintegrated.”

On Friday, July 11, a joint committee of the Bangsamoro Parliament approved the committee report reapportioning the seven district seats originally allotted for Sulu by adding one seat to each of the five provinces, Cotabato City, and the Special Geographic Area (SGA). However, MNLF leaders in the incumbent Bangsamoro Parliament appealed to the House and the Senate to help them sort out Sulu’s reintegration into the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) after the Supreme Court removed the province last year as petitioned by its provincial governor Abdusakur Tan Jr.