Timeline of the Moro conflict

This is a chronology of the Moro conflict, a low level conflict in the southern Philippines, involving jihadist groups such as the Abu Sayyaf Group, the Maute Group, Jemaah Islamiyah, and Islamic State affiliates, mainstream separatist groups such as the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), and the Philippine Government since 1971. Much of the fighting has been concentrated on the island of Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago, with spillover incidents and attacks occurring in the Philippine capital Manila and neighboring countries such as Malaysia.

As of 2019, the conflict has ended between separatist groups, but the Islamic State Insurgency continues.

1960s

1968

• May – The Muslim (later Mindanao) Independence Movement (MIM), a secessionist organization, is launched by its would-be chairman, newly retired Cotabato governor Datu Udtog (or Udtug) Matalam, to campaign for an independent Islamic Republic comprising Mindanao, Palawan and Sulu Archipelago.

1969

• Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), the country's major Muslim group, is founded by Nur Misuari. Its first members are the youth recruited by traditional leaders for military training in Malaysia. Misuari has decided to fight for an independent Bangsamoro homeland as a result of the 1968 Jabidah massacre, but their original objective is later reduced to accepting autonomy within the country, being under pressure from the Organization of Islamic Conference. Its armed group is Bangsa Moro Army. By 2000, it has main bases, from Zamboanga Peninsula to parts of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and the Soccsksargen.
• Hashim Salamat establishes the organization Nurul Islam to promote Islamic renewal in Cotabato. Both Salamat and his organization are aligned with the MIM by 1970.

1970s

1971

• 19 June – Suspected members of an extremist Christian group Ilagas ("Rats") storm in a mosque in Carmen, Cotabato, where Moslems are waiting for a scheduled conference between the warring communities, and gun them down. At least 65 Moslems, including 13 children and 29 women, are killed.

1972

• 28 June – early July – Bands of Moslem Barracudas, reportedly travelling by motorized boats from the Sulu Archipelago to southwestern Mindanao, raid coastal villages in Zamboanga del Sur; particularly about 100 in two villages in Mabuhay and one in Dimataling. A total of 58–67 Christians are reported massacred; another hundred are injured. The attacks are an apparent reprisal for the killing of Moslems by Ilagas in the province.
  • Early July – Raiders enter Dimataling, hack the Christian mayor to death, and kill two policemen and six soldiers.
• 21 September – President Ferdinand Marcos imposes martial law; its principal reasons are the existence of armed conflict between Muslims and Christians and a Muslim "secessionist movement" in the country's south. However, in fact, within months prior, neither serious incidents of sectarian violence nor activities by the MIM have been reported; the imposition results in an armed Muslim insurgency against the state, and leads to hostilities in Muslim Mindanao.
• Mid-October:
  • Marcos announces being prepared to deploy all troops in the country's south to "annihilate" outlaws if all guns would not be surrendered prior to 25 October deadline.
  • Marawi, Lanao del Sur, is attacked by more than 400 armed Maranaos who would be defeated by army forces after three days.
• Late October – Fighting begins between Muslim rebels and government soldiers in Cotabato.
• November – Marcos sends thousands of troops to Mindanao. By month's end, fierce clashes with separatist rebels are occurring throughout the country's south.
• 26 November – Battle in Sibalu Hill resulted a defeat for the Philippine Marine Corps including 43 Marines killed
• 27 November – An encounter occurs in a hill on Jolo island; government forces suffer defeat.
• 24 December – A Philippine Air Force C-47 with a crew of seven is shot down by Moslem dissidents during a fighting in southern Sulu.
• 26 December – The military reports that since September, at least 46 soldiers and 92 Moslem dissidents have been killed, and there are half a million refugees in areas of Mindanao, in the ongoing fighting.
• Late December – A military strike force overruns a rebel training camp in eastern Mindanao with 40 rebels killed.
• 28 December – Government troops attacks the guerrilla stronghold on Jolo island; military's victory reported. Officials report at least 14 troops are killed and more than 20 are wounded.
• 30 December:
  • A government patrol kills 25 rebels in Basilan City, Zamboanga del Sur.
  • Military forces captures Sibalo Hill on Jolo island, used as training camp an command post by Moslem rebels, after a massive assault.
• As political groups are banned, martial law causes the dissolution of aboveground organizations as the MIM and Nurul Islam. The underground MNLF is then activated, and will be involved in the developing insurgency by yearend.
• 2 January:
  • President Marcos calls a peace conference with about 200 Moslem leaders to forge a peace alliance between the national government and minority Filipino Moslems in Mindanao and Sulu. He likewise plans a next day's conference with 170 leaders to explain his order allowing barter trade between the country's south and Borneo.
  • The military announces that in the past two weeks, fighting has resulted in the deaths of 38 Moslem dissidents and 10 government troops in 12 encounters.
• The Moro National Liberation Front Was founded

1973

• By that year, the entire core leadership of the MNLF is operating from abroad. Misuari has left Manila after the imposition of martial law, fleeing to Sabah and to Libya.

1974

• By that year, the MNLF central committee has almost all of its members in Tripoli, Libya. Its chairman and vice-chairman are Misuari and Salamat, respectively. Immediately after the start of martial law, Salamat and his companions are forced underground when Datu Udtug signs an "affidavit" against them, which is turned over to the Philippine Army; shortly, the group joins forces with Misuari, and Salamat goes to Tripoli. Meanwhile, Abul Khayr Alonto, member of a prominent Maranao family, is the overall field commander of the Bangsa Moro Army, being among the few top leaders to remain in the country. The MNLF's military branch probably has between 10,000 and 30,000 men.
• February – In the fiercest engagement of the Moslem conflict, Jolo, Sulu, is burnt to the ground by the military.
• 20 June – Moslem guerrilla attacks begin in central Mindanao area.
  • On 20 June, insurgents stage a mortar attack on an airport in Cotabato City; fighting occurs near the area the following day, with an ambush on an army patrol in Tunuel that kills 17 soldiers.
  • On 20 June, rebels attack the Maria Cristina Falls hydroelectric plant which is slightly damaged by an explosion. Two workers are killed and a guard is injured.
  • Rebels simultaneously attack the barrios in Midsayap and Pikit in Cotabato. In Midsayap, a raid on 20 June kills four soldiers; more than 19,000 persons are evacuated within 6 days.
  • On 21 June, a force of Moslem, Christian, and Bilaat tribesmen attacks Makilala, Cotabato, killing 12 villagers.
  • By 21 June, thirty-one bodies of slain Christians are reported found during a 10-day trek by refugee families in Cotabato.
• 19 November – A battle n Karundung resulted in 19 Philippine Marine killed and 14 wounded.
• 20 or 28 December – Moslem rebels capture a logging camp in Zamboanga City and hold at least 63 people. The hostage-taking would last until early January 1975.

1975

• 10 January – A battle on Moslem insurgents on the isolated camp in north of Zamboanga City, results in the deaths of the rebel leader and two others. Later, 56 Christian workers in a logging camp, among those held since late December, are found killed; their bodies have been either mutilated or beheaded by guerrillas after failed negotiations for their release. The massacre is one of the deadliest single incident in the conflict.
• 13 January – Rebels attack Marawi, Lanao del Sur, attempting to destroy a radio station and the Moslem Information Center of the Mindanao State University.
• 14 January – Moslem guerrillas wipe out at least 40 troops in Maimbung, Sulu, also one of the deadliest single attacks. Thereafter, the Philippine Air Force attacks rebel positions in the Jolo island.
• January:
  • The Air Force launches air strikes against rebels, who have launched mortar attacks against a training base and headquarters of the Central Mindanao Command in Cotabato City.
  • The military enters the western coast of the Zamboanga peninsula area in an attempt to prevent the gunrunners in supplying the rebels. At the same time, a rebel presence is reported in Pagadian, Zamboanga del Sur.
  • A Filipino team, headed by executive secretary Alejandro Melchor, meets with the MNLF in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Among the members of negotiating team is Rear Admiral Romulo Espaldon, commander of the southwestern Mindanao area. The seven-member team includes Dr. Cesar Majul, head of the Liberal Arts Department of the University of the Philippines; a Moslem; and government officials. The MNLF is represented by its spokesmen, Hashim Salamat of Cotabato, and Hdul Hamid Lukman, a former judge in Maimbung, Sulu. Neither their departure nor the meeting is announced by the national government; the news on the fighting is not reported by the government-controlled media.
• 9 March – The military reports that an attack is launched against Moslem insurgents—an estimated 4,000—in northeast Basilan, while a clash in Jolo, Sulu, results in the deaths of three soldiers and four civilians. At that time, MNLF has 16,000 armed men; and these insurgents have killed at least 1,750-3,000 Government soldiers, the Moro Rebels controlled large portions of Mindanao, and successfully engaged the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in the battlefield. It was reported that most of the 114 officers of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA), the country's highest military academy and training school, were killed in just a year.
• 12 March:
  • The social welfare department issues official figures on refugees in Mindanao for the first time following the government lifting of a news blackout on the hostilities two weeks prior. It shows that more than a million persons—comprising almost 185,000 families—has evacuated from their homes in 7 cities and 11 provinces; most of them are from South Cotabato, Zamboanga City, and Sulu.
  • The defense department, on its latest progress report on fighting in Basilan concentrating on about 4,000 rebels, says that the troops have repulsed sporadic rebel attacks and have inflicted "moderate casualties" on the insurgents. Military figures earlier report that 106 insurgents have been killed in the island.
• August – A truck is ambushed in Misamis Oriental; 32 Moslem passengers are reported killed.

1976

• By early February, unofficial count by the Roman Catholic priests on casualties runs as high as 13,000, which includes soldiers, rebels, and civilians.
• 1 February – A gang of about 25 Moslems ambush a bus at north of Zamboanga City, while travelling to Ipil, Zamboanga del Sur, killing 25 persons and wounding 30.
• Negotiations between the national government and the Moro rebels is held in Tripoli, Libya, and is also participated by the Organization of Islamic Conference. An agreement on autonomy is reaches later that year, but would be disagreed in follow-up talks in Manila in April 1977.

1977

• By that year, the government estimates that there are as many as million displaced civilians in the country's south and at least 200,000 more who have fled to Sabah, Malaysia.
• October – A general and 34 soldiers, who are trying to negotiate with a Moslem chief, ate killed in Sulu. The armed forces conducts a campaign on the whole island thereafter.
• December – Salamat, also rebel chief of the Maguindanao community, decides to challenge the leadership of MNLF chairman Misuari. Salamat and Misuari is supported by Egypt and Libya, respectively.

1978

• Early 1978 – Alonto of the Maranao tribe enters a peace agreement with the national government after breaking with Misurari.
• July:
  • Twenty people are slain in clashes in Lanao and Sulu provinces.
  • A seaborne group of 30 rebels attack and burn the municipal hall of Maco, Davao del Norte.
  • A rebel group burns 15 houses in Kibawe, Bukidnon.
• 12 July – Forty-five rebels are reported land in a part of Palawan.

1980s

1980

• Mid-April – Initial reports, particularly a confidential police report dated April 6 which is apparently based on the accounts of three survivors, on the massacre of 29 individuals being herded by the marines onto Bongao Island, appear.
• November 15 – Police kills eight suspected MNLF members at a roadblock in Zamboanga City, hours after receiving a tip on a plan to kidnap the president of a local college.
• December 2 – A grenade attack by suspected Moslem rebels at a bus stop in Zamboanga City kills 3 and injures 45.

• According to Ferdinand Marcos 11,000 Pilipino soldiers had been killed by the Moro Conflict referring to 1972 to 1980

1981

February 12 - The Pata Island massacre was a major battle fought on Pata Island, Sulu, which resulted in a victory for the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF). Philippine government forces reportedly suffered between 122 and 127 casualties, while MNLF losses were estimated at 16 to 49 fighters killed. Historically, the battle is regarded as one of the deadliest defeats suffered by the Armed Forces of the Philippines and among its largest single-engagement losses during the Moro conflict

1984

• Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is formally established. It has been called itself the "New MNLF," a group which has been broken away from the MNLF in 1978 and being led by Central Committee member Salamat Hashim.

1986

• 23 April - A report states that Ferdinand Marcos once claimed that more than 100,000 Philippine soldiers lost their lives in the Moro War, it is not mentioned whether if he referred to a specific period or to the entirety of the conflict.

1987

• By January, the MNLF strength is estimated by the military at 6,000.
• 14 January – In a worst outbreak of Muslim-related violence in the decade, a battle occurs between the army and 700 rebels setting up roadblocks in Pikit, Cotabato. Within three days, 21 guerillas, two militiamen and seven civilians are killed; a rebel and 56 civilians are injured.
• 16 January – A bid by 300 Muslim guerrillas to blow up government buildings in Marawi, Lanao del Sur, including the Mindanao State University, is foiled by the army.

1988

• 31 January – Sixty heavily armed Moslem rebels attack an army detachment in Cotabato. A battle with the military ensues; six rebels and a soldier are killed; three soldiers are injured.
• Late June or early July – Ten Moslem separatist rebels are killed and five soldiers are injured in an encounter in Zamboanga del Norte.

1990s

• Late 1990s – MILF claims having 120,000 fighters, in addition to its supporters. Estimates on its strength ranges from 8,000 (military) to 40,000 (Western intelligence sources).

1991

• Abu Sayyaf, the smallest but most radical of the separatist groups in Mindanao, first appears. Founded by Abdurajak Abubakar Janjalani, it begins in mid-1980s as Tabligh (Spread the Word), an organization established in the country in 1972 by missionaries of Islam from Iran, whose military arm becomes known as Mujahedin Commando Freedom Fighters. Janjalani is a former MNLF member and a veteran of the Afghan War. The group's main base is on Basilan, but its operations expand to Sulu and Manila.

1992

• December 7 – Abogado Gado (Commander Mubarak), leader of the National Security Command, an elite MNLF combat unit, is killed in a shootout with the Marines during a raid on his hideout in Pantukan, Davao del Norte. Mubarak started the kidnapping trend, which was stopped in the 1960s, in Central Mindanao in 1990 when he is believed to have masterminded that of 89 Chinese-Filipino residents of the area. Since then, his group collected at least ₱130 million in ransom from activities which reportedly involves law enforcers. After Mubarak's death, the gang would be reorganized into smaller groups, including one by Faisal Marohomsar, a Maranaw and a key leader of the Pentagon gang while others are being led by his Maguindanaoan lieutenants. Marines attached to the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force would "neutralize" 48 kidnap gang members in the region between 1998 and 2000.

1994

• Military estimates put the MNLF strength at 14,080. Meanwhile, the group claims a much higher figure, as well as a considerable number of "secret forces".

1995

• April 4 - Abu Sayyaf is involved in an attack on Ipil, Zamboanga del Sur, that killed 50 people.

1997

• January:
  • Three men are executed by firing squad of eleven MILF rebels in Linamon, Lanao del Norte, as they have been suspected of killing a rebel leader after stealing his car on January 2.
  • The integration of 5,000 MNLF members to the Philippine National Police, being part of one of the agreements during peace talks, is suspended.
• October:
  • MILF rebels publicly execute by firing squad two men, convicted of various crimes by its Shariah court, in Lanao del Sur. Photographs of which are published in the October 9 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer. The MILF, recognizing Islamic laws rather than the country's laws and constitution, claims that such summary executions are "in accordance with [the Koran];" with its chief negotiator Ghadzali Jaafar reportedly saying that they "[do not] recognize the authority and jurisdiction" of the national government "over Mindanao, the Bangsamoro and [their natives]." Meanwhile, the national government later condemns the incident, and President Fidel Ramos orders a manhunt on the executioners.
  • House speaker Jose de Venecia announces that Jaafar, also MILF vice chairman for political affairs, agrees to stop MILF's public executions "of Christians" convicted by its Shariah court. At least twelve people have been executed, including seven earlier that year; while eight others are scheduled to be executed in Camp Abubakar in Matanog, Maguindanao, until yearend.

1998

• July - President Joseph Estrada vowed to pursue talks with the MILF after he was sworn in as 13th president of Philippine republic
• MNLF enters civilian politics following a 1996 peace agreement. Only leaders elected in 1998 are Muslimin Sema and Hassim Amin, as mayor of Cotabato City and as representative of the 1st district of Sulu, respectively.
• 18 December - Abu Sayyaf founder; Abdurajak Abubakar Janjalani is killed in a police encounter during december.

1999

• January – The Maranao Islamic Statehood raids a market in Marawi, Lanao del Sur.

• MILF halted its insurgency during the MNLF peace process and entered into talks with the government during 1999

2000s and later

2000

• The total force of the Abu Sayyaf is believed to be about 200.
• 30 January – A MILF attack on government troops in Carmen, Cotabato ended in a gunbattle with 7 MILF members killed and 3 soldiers wounded.
• March – The MNLF–Islamic Command Council, a breakaway group led by young fighters who have believed that Misuari has "lost authority" on the Moros following the 1996 peace agreement, makes a media appearance. It is based in the nine rice-producing towns—the Basak area—in Lanao del Sur.
• 17 March – A MILF brigade led by an Abdullah Macapaar (Commander Bravo) reportedly held the siege of the municipal hall of Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte.
• 2 April – Five MILF rebels and a soldier were killed in a clash in Matungao, Lanao del Norte.
• 7 May – Eleven soldiers from the 32nd Special Forces of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) were slain in an ambush by the ASG in Lantawan, Basilan.
• 16 July:
  • About 100 suspected guerrillas kill 21 Christians inside a mosque in Bumbaran, Lanao del Sur.
  • A bomb explosion by suspected MILF rebels at a market in Kabacan, Cotabato kills 4 people and injures more than 30 others.
• 21 July – About 40 rebels attack a village in Tulunan, Cotabato, killing three militiamen and injuring three members of a paramilitary group.
• 23 July – About 20 Muslim rebels ambush a truck carrying families of company workers in Balabagan, Lanao del Sur, killing 13, mostly Christians, and injuring 14.
• 16 September – Military offensive against the ASG began; 19 captives were later rescued; by mid-December, 205 ASG guerrillas and 12 from the military had been reportedly killed.
• Early November – Government troops seized a hideout of the extremists in Talipao, Sulu, with several rebels killed in the assault.
• 10 November:
  • Combined government forces prevented an attempt by MILF rebels to take over the town proper of Upi, Maguindnanao and to kidnap Chinese residents; a gunbattle left 3 rebels dead.
  • A clash in Tuburan, Basilan between the militiamen and MILF rebels, who had reinforced the armed followers of a village chief, killed 2 MILF rebels and a militiaman.
  • Four ASG rebels were slain, as well as a soldier, in a clash between government forces and about 60 rebels in Talipao, Sulu.
• 11 November – MILF rebels attacked two buses while passing on the road in Pikit, Cotabato, killing a passenger and wounding 16 others.
• 23 November – Soldiers pursuing two groups of ASG fighters clashed with more than 80 guerillas in the jungle near Mt. Danao in Talipao, Sulu. Officials claimed an unknown number of rebels were slain.
• 17 December – The 12th Scout Ranger Company of the Philippine Army attacked an ASG hideout in Patikul, Sulu and fought against some 140 rebels; 7 ASG members, as well as a soldier, were killed.
• 18 December – Two MILF guerrillas were killed in a clash with the 44th Infantry Battalion in Sirawai, Zamboanga del Norte.

2003

• February – Mujib Susukan, a senior Abu Sayyaf leader who took part in numerous abductions and killings including one in Sipadan in 2000, is killed by troops.
• December 7 - Ghalib Andang, known as Commander Robot, a Senior Abu Sayyaf Member was captured by soldiers on Sunday evening in the southern Philippines after being wounded in a firefight

2004

• April 8 – A gunbattle between army troops led by Lt. Col. Noel Buan, commander of the 1st Scout Ranger Battalion, and a group of Abu Sayyaf leader Hamsiraji Sali in Makiri, Isabela, Basilan. Sali, one of five most wanted terrorists, and five followers are slain, as well as two members of Ranger team, are killed; three other soldiers are injured, including Buan and Sgt. Leopoldo Diokno. Buan and Sali, bringing only five men each, have signed the surrender of the three including Sali and his brother, when Sali notices some of 31 additional soldiers posted by Buan nearby, resulting in a "90-minute" firefight. Buan, a former New People's Army captive for 21 months, and Diokno would be awarded the Medal of Valor in a controversial move. On April 28, President Gloria Arroyo awards the Gold Cross medals for the slain soldiers.

2005

• February 14 - on 14 February 2005, ASG members carried out simultaneous bombings in the cities of Manila, General Santos, and Davao, killing at least eight and injuring about 150

2006

• October 10 – Bomb attacks by the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) in Makilala, Cotabato and Tacurong, Sultan Kudarat kill eight and injure at least thirty others.
• October 18 – At least three persons are killed in a bomb explosion, perpetrated by the ASG, near a police camp in Jolo, Sulu.

2007

September 4 - Khaddafy Janjalani the country’s most wanted man with a $5m bounty on his head was killed in a clash with soldiers on southern Jolo Island on September 4

2008

June 3 - Three journalists from a major media network along with their source have been missing since 8 June 2008 in Sulu, Mindanao, and are believed to have been abducted by the Abu Sayyaf, Known as the 2008 Maimbung kidnappings

August 17 - On August 17, a military convoy traveling through Lanao del Sur was ambushed by Moro rebels, resulting in the deaths of four soldiers and four militiamen. Before dawn the following day, insurgents attacked two nearby towns, killing at least three additional soldiers and 33 civilians. According to reports, some of the victims were hacked to death with machetes

2009

January - On January 2009, ASG kidnapped three International Red Cross workers in Sulu province, holding one of the hostages for six months.

2010

• 17 February - Albader Parad and 5 other Abu Sayyaf members are killed in a military operation
• 13 April - about 25 suspected members of the Abu Sayyaf extremist group disguised in police and military uniforms launched attacks in Isabela City, the capital of the island of Basilan, At least 11 people died, including three marines, a police officer, four civilians and three militants

2011

Main article: 2011 Al-Barka clash

11 October - Despite a ceasefire, fighters of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) clashed with military troops on Oct. 18, 2011, in Al-Barka town in the province of Basilan, The encounter, which lasted from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., left 19 soldiers and six Moro insurgents dead

21 October - The incident in Al-Barka was followed by an Oct. 21 clash between MILF forces and the military in Zamboanga Sibugay province, where seven people were killed

24 October - Suspected Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) guerrillas struck twice on Sunday, leaving five civilians and two more soldiers

2012

• 23 January – 193 MNLF combatants led by Hadji Obin Talab, Sharif Ahmad and Alawi Hajan allegedly defected to the MILF following a meeting in Barangay Marsada, Panglima Estino, Sulu. Ustad Habir Malik, operating in Luuk, Sulu, formerly led the MNLF defectors.

2013

• 5 February – A Clash in Sulu between Abu Sayyaf and the Moro National Liberation Front leaves 8 MNLF Fighters Beheaded and 18 Bandits Killed
• February 11 - 2013 Lahad Datu standoff
• September 9 - Zamboanga siege

2014

• March 27 - The Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) was the final peace agreement signed between the Government of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front on March 27, 2014 at the Malacañang Palace in Manila, which eventually led to the creation of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (often referred to simply as the Bangsamoro, in January 2019.
• December 6 - A Swiss hostage escaped on December 6 from Abu Sayyaf extremists after hacking one militant commander and getting shot as he dashed to freedom, ending more than two years of jungle captivity in the restive southern Philippines, security officials said
• December 30 - Military data released in December showed that the number of Abu Sayyaf members stood at 423, higher than the figure of 390 reported since 2009

2015

• 2015 - More than 160,000 people were killed from organized violence in Mindanao since the 1990s, and 3,500,000 more were displaced since 2000.

• 18 November - Bernard Then a hostage who was abducted by Abu Sayyaf during may on Sandakan, was executed;Najib Razak , Malaysia's Prime Minister;condemned the execution saying “I am shocked and sickened by the murder of our countryman Bernard Then and we condemn it in its strongest terms,” on his Facebook page

• Late 2015 - 133 Abu Sayyaf were reportedly killed and another 164 were wounded, due to operations in Sulu According to the Armed Forces of the Philippines

2016

Main article: 2016 Hilongos bombings

• August 30 - 15 Army soldiers were killed by Abu Sayyaf in Jolo, Two of which were beheaded
• 6 December – A soldier was killed while a policeman was wounded in separate clashes between government forces and suspected members of the Maute group in Butig, Lanao del Sur.
• 10 December – Three members of Abu Sayyaf, including a leader, were killed in a shooting between the police and the militants in Malaysia.
• 20 December – Four fishing boat crew were reportedly abducted off Sulu.
• 24 December – At least sixteen people, including a police officer, were injured in a blast outside a Catholic church in Midsayap, Cotabato.
• 28 December – Two bombs injured thirty-three people who were attending an amateur boxing match in the town of Hilongos, Leyte in the Visayas, well beyond the conflict zone in Mindanao. Authorities believe that the BIFF or the Maute group are responsible.
• 29 December – A bomb exploded on a highway in Aleosan, Cotabato, wounding six people.
• 31 December – An improvised explosive device exploded outside the municipal gymnasium of Talitay, Maguindanao del Norte where a gathering for peace and unity was held on New Year's Eve, no one is injured.

2017

Pump boats used by Abu Sayyaf in 2017 Bohol attack

• 4 January – 2017 Kidapawan jail siege: Around 100 gunmen attack the Cotabato District Jail in Kidapawan City. A total of 158 inmates escape, fourteen of whom are quickly recaptured, while five others are killed.
• 29 January – Two children were killed and three others were injured when a bomb went off in Al-Barka, Basilan.
• 15 February – Eight passengers were wounded when suspected Abu Sayyaf gunmen shot at a bus on the outskirts of Zamboanga City.
• 27 February – a German sailor is beheaded by the Abu Sayyaf after being taken hostage since 5 November 2016.
• 16 March – A Vietnamese seafarer who was kidnapped on 19 February by the Abu Sayyaf is killed while trying to escape.
• 31 March – An improvised explosive device explodes in Midsayap, Cotabato before dawn wounding a pedicab driver and a minor.
• 11 April – 2017 Bohol clashes: The Abu Sauyaf Group launches an amphibious incursion into the province of Bohol in the Visayas, triggering a massive government operation that leaves 17 people dead.
• 13 July – The bullet-riddled body of Vietnamese national Tran Viet Van was re-covered in Barangay Buhanginan in Patikul, Sulu after being held hostage by the Abu Sayyaf.
• 28 July – Nine soldiers were injured when suspected militants set off an improvised explosive device (IED) in Rajah Buayan, Maguindanao.
• 18 August – Five fighters from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) die in a clash with BIFF militants.
• 21 August – Nine people are killed, while sixteen others are wounded after Abu Sayyaf bandits attack a village in Maluso, Basilan.
• 16 October – The leader of the Abu Sayyaf Group, Isnilon Hapilon is killed by the Philippine Army, along with the co-founder of the Maute group Omar Maute in Marawi, Lanao del Sur.
• 23 October – The five-month-long siege in Marawi ended with the Philippine Government declaring victory.
• 24 October – The Maute group is declared "practically wiped out" by the Armed Forces of the Philippines following the deaths of the seven Maute brothers.
• 15 December – Remnants of the Maute group reportedly are recruiting new members around Marawi. The successor group has been labeled as the "Turaifie group" after its purported leader, Abu Turaifie.
• 31 December –
  • Two people were killed and sixteen others were injured when an improvised bomb went off along the national highway in Tacurong, Sultan Kudarat.
  • A policeman is killed while five others are injured when a bomb explodes as a police vehicle passes some 400 meters from the provincial headquarters of the Philippine National Police in Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao.

2018

• 1 January – Two soldiers from the 57th IB are injured when an improvised explosive device explodes near the provincial hospital in Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao.
• 8 January – Five Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and a soldier were killed in a five-hour attack in Datu Unsay, Maguindanao
• 9 January – A soldier is killed while two civilians are injured when a suspected Islamic State-inspired group sets off two separate roadside bombs in Maguindanao
• 19 January – Two explosions rock Barangay Semba, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao, believed to be the work of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF). No one is hurt.
• 25 January – Two civilians are killed while another is injured in an improvised bomb explosion in a ricefield in Datu Piang, Maguindanao.
• 1 February – Two people are killed while four others are wounded when Abu Sayyaf bandits attack a private vehicle in Patikul, Sulu.
• 14 February – Members of the Abu Sayyaf Group abduct a government engineer in Jolo, Sulu.
• 18 February – Five soldiers, including a junior officer, are injured in a roadside bombing in Datu Unsay, Maguidanao.
• 29 April – Abu Sayyaf extremists kidnap four people, including two policewomen in Patikul, Sulu.
• 7 May – Three Abu Sayyaf terrorists are killed and seven soldiers wounded in an encounter in Patikul, Sulu.
• 13–14 May – Eleven Abu Sayyaf terrorists and three soldiers are killed and 17 others injured in several shootouts in Patikul, Sulu.
• 10 June – The Philippine Army launched an operation against Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, led by Esmail Abdulmalik (Abu Toraife), in the southern Liguasan Marsh in the borders of Pagalungan and Gen. Salipada K. Pendatun in Maguindanao, where the group's main explosives facility and camp were destroyed by airstrikes; at least 15 BIFF members were killed, including five Indonesians and a Singaporean, 10 were injured, and a couple allegedly involved in bomb-making was captured. Eight other BIFF members were killed in succeeding military operations in Datu Unsay and Datu Hoffer Ampatuan in Maguindanao and in Midsayap, Cotabato.
• 16 June – A woman believed to be pregnant was killed while a 14-year-old boy was injured by mortar fire from members of the BIFF in General Salipada K. Pendatun, Maguindanao.
• 30 June – Militants of the BIFF detonate two bombs that rock the Barangay Hall of Timbangan, Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao. No one is injured in the incident.
• 1–4 July – Eight more members of the BIFF are killed in a series of clashes in Maguindanao.
• 31 July – A bomb exploded in a van and killed a suspected bomber, a soldier, four paramilitaries and four civilians, including a mother and her child, at a military checkpoint in Lamitan, Basilan. Twelve others are wounded.
• 28 August – Two civilians are killed and thirty-six injured by a homemade bomb during a street festival in Isulan, Sultan Kudarat.
• 2 September – 2018 Isulan bombings: A bomb blast in an internet café in Isulan, Sultan Kudarat kills 1 and injures 15. The attack is blamed on the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.
• 14 September – Clashes with the Abu Sayyaf in Patikul, Sulu result in 17 wounded from the military, while 7 Abu Sayyaf militants are killed and 6 wounded.
• 16 September – Eight people are injured including a six-year-old girl, when a bomb went off in front of a pharmacy in General Santos. The police blame the pro-ISIS faction of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters for the bombing.

2019

• January – A suicide bombing in a Catholic church in Jolo, Sulu killed 23 people including an Indonesian couple suspected to be the perpetrators of the attack. The bombing was reportedly masterminded by Hatib Hajan Sawadjaan, leader of the Islamic State in the Philippines who had succeeded Isnilon Hapilon. Sawadjaan and his relatives were members of an Abu Sayyaf–Hapilon faction.
• Government roops killed a brother of Mundi Sawadjaan in an encounter in Patikul, Sulu.

2020

• 16 January – Five Indonesian fishermen were kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf (ASG), reportedly with the involvement of its sub-leader Injam Yadah, in the waters off Malaysia. One of them was killed in Sulu later that year; the rest were separately rescued by the troops in Tawi-Tawi in March 2021.
• 6 July – A gunbattle between the ASG and the troops occurred in a jungle near Patikul, Sulu. The Philippine Army believed that Hatib Hajan Sawadjaan, leader of the Islamic State group in the southern Philippines, was wounded and later died.
• 24 August – Two ASG militants staged suicide bombings in Jolo, Sulu, killing at least 14 people and injuring 75 more. Military officials suspected Mundi Sawadjaan, Hatib Hajan's nephew, of plotting the attacks.
• 3 November – A military offensive was launched against the ASG at the sea off Sulare Island in Parang, Sulu, resulting in the sinking of the boat used by fighters as well as the deaths of seven suspected ASG members including two brothers of Mundi Sawadjaan.
• The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) reported that in 2020, sixty-eight ASG members were killed and another 128 surrendered in military operations. They also reported that from the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, 31 members died, 184 surrendered, and 22 were arrested; and from Maute group, 31 members died, 35 surrendered, and five were arrested.

2021

• 16 April – An encounter with government troops in Patikul, Sulu ended with an Egyptian terrorist and two Abu Sayyaf members under Mundi Sawadjaan killed.
• 23 April – A series of encounters between the military troops and an Abu Sayyaf (ASG) group under its sub-leader and bombmaker Mundi Sawadjaan in Patikul, Sulu resulted to two ASG militants being killed, including the eldest brother of Sawadjaan, who then evaded the military dragnet during a clash.
• 5 May – A gunfight occurred when more than 20 gunmen attacked soldiers patrolling in Piagapo, Lanao del Sur; one of them, a henchman of the founders of the Maute Group, was killed while three others were wounded.
• 8 May – Datu Paglas market occupation
• 13 June – A shootout ensued at the residence of ASG sub-leader Injam Yadah in Jolo, Sulu as he was to be arrested by the combined security forces. Yadah, as well as three of his followers including a brother of Mundi Sawadjaan, were killed.

2022

• 10 January – A group of construction workers were shot in Piagapo, Lanao del Sur with two of them killed. Two suspects, both alleged members of the Dawlah Islamiya–Maute Group (DI-MG), were killed in an encounter in the same town on 5 February.
• 2 February – Two DI–MG members were killed in a clash with government forces on Balabagan, Lanao del Sur.
• 6 February – Joint government forces, foiling a bombing plot, captured two DI–MG members in a pursuit operation in Piagapo, Lanao del Sur.
• 1 March – The joint military and police operation against around 40 DI–MG members was launched in Maguing, Lanao del Sur with at least three suspected terrorists and a soldier killed in an encounter.
• 25 March – Abu Sayyaf Group leader in Basilan, Radzmil Jannatul, was killed during a gunfight between ASG members and a group of Scout Rangers in Sumisip. Jannatul was the successor of Furuji Indama who was killed in late 2020.
• 27 December – Two separate gunfights between rival MILF groups occurred in Maguindanao del Sur.
  • A pre-dawn encounter began in Sultan sa Barongis when a group from the 118th Base Command attacked a sitio and fired at the houses of their enemies led by a senior member of the 105th. An ensuing firefight killed two from the former group, including the leader, and the latter's leader's relative.
  • Two armed rival clans fought in Datu Montawal, killing a gunman.

2023

• 5 February – Seven men allegedly linked to the Abu Sayyaf were killed in a pre-dawn encounter with government forces in Parang, Sulu near the boundary with Maimbung. Two companions were arrested; three were wounded.
• 18 February – Three BIFF members, including a field commander of the Karialan faction, were killed in an encounter with government forces in Tacurong, Sultan Kudarat.
• 20 February – An Abu Sayyaf bandit was killed in an encounter with the military troops in Patikul, Sulu.
• 1 March – A member of the BIFF–Karialan Faction was killed in an encounter with the military in Ampatuan, Maguindanao del Sur.
• 22 March – The Philippine Army's 602nd Infantry Brigade launched operations against Dawlah Islamiya in the Liguasan Marsh, in the border of the provinces of Maguindanao del Sur and Cotabato, following reports in Pagalungan, Datu Montawal, and Pikit of sightings of armed men plotting to launch bombings in two provinces at the start of Ramadan. These started in a pre-dawn attack in Pagalungan against the 30-man DI–Hassan group camping in the border with Datu Montawal, followed by skirmishes; their lairs were pounded. By 27 March, up to seven alleged DI members were killed in the artillery strikes; another was arrested.
• 17 April – A double-decker bus unit was bombed in Isulan, Sultan Kudarat, wounding at least six passengers. The provincial police filed charges against nine Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters members. In May, the military, in their search for the suspects, launched an operation at the suspected Dawlah Islamiya's lair in Datu Piang, Maguindanao del Sur.
• 3 June – The military, had located in Basilan the harboring position of Dawlah Islamiyah–Abu Sayyaf Group (DI–ASG) subleader in Sulu, Mundi Sawadjaan, in their attempt to apprehend him, rescued an Indonesian teenager identified as the son of the suicide bombers behind the 2019 Jolo Cathedral bombings.
• 6 June – A focused military operation was conducted in Sumisip, Basilan against two DI and ASG subleaders in Sulu and Basilan provinces, wherein their two alleged followers were killed.
• 18 July – A clash occurred in Datu Paglas, Maguindanao del Sur as security forces was about to serve a search warrant on the lair of a BIFF leader, who was later killed along with six other members.
• 1 December – Eleven DI members, including its two ranking leaders, newly declared chief for the Philippines Abdullah Sapal, and Nasser Guinaid Saptullah, who had succeeded Abu Turaifie as the leader of his group in Maguindanao, were killed in an offensive by the army, under Western Mindanao Command, in Datu Hoffer Ampatuan, Maguindanao del Sur.
• 2 December:
  • Mudzrimar "Mundi" Sawadjaan, an ASG subleader and bomb maker, was killed by security forces who had intercepted him in a military operation in the waters off Tipo-Tipo and Tuburan in Basilan, during a firefight as he was trying to escape.
  • In the third military operation within two days, a DI-Maute Group sub-leader was killed in a gun battle between five militants and army soldiers in Piagapo, Lanao del Sur. His relative was apprehended following the encounter.
• December 3 – A bomb explosion occurred during a church service in the Mindanao State University gymnasium in Marawi, Lanao del Sur, killing at least four people and injuring 50 others. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack. On December 6, the military arrested one of the suspects in the bombing.
• 7 December – The Army's 6th Infantry Division launched offensives on the suspected lairs of the DI near the Liguasan Marsh, along the Maguindanao del Sur–Cotabato provincial boundaries, after reported sightings of the Hassan sub-group militants in Datu Montawal, Pagalungan, and Pikit. The attack targeted their enclaves in the northern parts of the marshland, beginning in Pagalungan, and later near Kabacan and M'lang; two lairs were bombed. Reported casualties among DI members included ten killed and ten wounded.

2024

• January 25–26 – Nine suspected DI–MG members, three of them suspects in the MSU–Marawi bombing, were killed in the military operation in Piagapo, Lanao del Sur. The AFP later announced that Khadafi Mimbesa, the amir (leader) of the DI–MG and an alleged mastermind behind the bombing, was among those killed.
• February 11 – Khatab, a top DI–MG member and another suspect in the MSU bombing, surrendered to the 2nd Mechanized Brigade.
• Late May – An alleged BIFF member is killed in an encounter with the military in Datu Salibo, Maguindanao del Sur.
• October 16 – Arsani Mimbesa, a key DI–MG member, the last identified suspect in the MSU bombing and listed as the top most wanted person in Lanao del Sur, was arrested in a joint law enforcement operation in Iligan.
• October 30 – Clashes erupt in Pagalungan, Maguindanao del Sur, between two rival MILF groups whose commanders have been contesting ownership of an about 300-hectare rice field. At least 19 people die while five others are injured.
• December 17 – Three members of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) were killed in an ambush in Basilan.

2025

• May 9 – Nasser Daud, a leader of the Dawlah Islamiya-Maute Group (DI-MG) who has been directly linked to the 2023 MSU bombing, is killed in a military encounter in Bacolod-Kalawi, Lanao del Sur.
• August 9 – A clash between government troops and DI-MG fighters occurs in Lumbayanague, Lanao del Sur, during manhunt operations against six suspected members of the latter, subjects of arrest warrants issued by a Regional Trial Court in Marawi in late 2023. Three of them dies in a hospital in Tamparan. A soldier from the Army's 5th Infantry Battalion is injured. The police later identifies one of those killed, as well as the rest who are captured, as minors.
• November 9 – A suspected DI-MG member is killed by a joint task group of the 2nd Mechanized Infantry (Magbalantay) Brigade in an encounter in Salvador, Lanao del Norte, while his two companions escape.
• November 14–15 – Two separate encounters between the 1101st Infantry (Gagandilan) Brigade of the Army's 1st Infantry (Tabak) Division, and DI-MG occur in Pagayawan, Lanao del Sur. Alleged DI-MG leader Najib Laguindab (Abu Jihad), one of the suspects in the 2023 MSU bombing, is killed; while a soldier dies from his injuries. Two individuals are captured.
• November 24 – An armed encounter, involving MILF factions and stemming from a land dispute, erupts in Matalam and Kidapawan in Cotabato, leaving seven men killed including an MILF commander whose family is locked in a rido (clan feud) with another commander.
• December 7 – Ustads Mohammad Usman Solaiman, the "amir" (leader) of the DI-Hassan Group and top bomb expert, is killed in an encounter with the 601st Infantry Brigade in Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao del Sur. His group has been linked to attacks in Mindanao including the bombings in Maguindanao, South Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat in 2022–2023; the ambush of soldiers in Datu Hoffer Ampatuan; and the killing of three goat traders from Batangas in May. Solaiman, nephew of notorious BIFF bomb expert Basit Usman, and Norodin Hassan ("Andot"), the group's amir for military affairs, are reportedly among the last senior lieutenants of Abu Azim, a DI-HG leader killed in 2021.
• December 14 – A member of DI group, who has an arrest warrant issued by a court in Cotabato City, is slain in a clash with government troops in Datu Abdullah Sangki, Maguindanao del Sur. He has been considered one of the main suspects in the killing of five individuals in Rajah Buayan since 2024, including a school principal in early June 2025.
• December 17 – The AFP announces in a press briefing in Camp Aguinaldo the decrease of number of members of local terrorist groups (LTGs) in the country, mostly based in Mindanao and including the Abu Sayyaf, from 1,257 in 2016 to just about 50; and the neutralization of 28 "high value individuals", including 10 "amirs" or LTG group leaders, in series of operations since 2016.

2026

• January 23 – Four soldiers are killed while another is injured in an ambush, allegedly by the DI-MG, in Munai, Lanao del Norte.
• January 27 – Two army soldiers are killed in a military operation against the DI–Hassan Group (DI-HG) in Datu Hoffer Ampatuan, Maguindanao del Sur.
• March 8 – Emarudin Kulaw, sub-leader and former emir of the DI-HG, is killed in a brief encounter between the combined personnel from the 601st and 602nd Infantry Brigades and his group at his hideout in Banisilan, Cotabato; his four companions later flee. Kulaw had been wanted for more than 20 high-profile criminal cases in Cotabato, Maguindanao del Norte and Maguindanao del Sur.
• March 28 – A patrol car of the Maguindanao del Sur provincial police is ambushed by the suspected DI in Shariff Aguak while returning to their headquarters at Camp Datu Akilan, killing five officers and injuring three others.
• April 17 – A pre-dawn joint police-military operation is held in Marantao, Lanao del Sur, where remnants of the DI-MG opens fire on the government forces that attempting to arrest their leader. Ten from the former are killed. The group is involved in 2017 Marawi siege; as its members are likewise implicated in a deadly ambush in Lanao del Norte in January.
• April 19 – Esmail Abdulmalik ("Abu Turaife"), former leader of the DI–Abu Turaife Group who, along with his men, surrendered to the military in 2025, dies of cardiac arrest as unidentified men open fire at his residence in Shariff Saydona Mustapha, Maguindanao del Sur. None in his immediate family is hurt in the strafing.
• May 30 – A suspected DI-HG member is killed while two others are arrested as army troops encounter an estimated seven terrorists and overrun their temporary camp in Datu Hoffer Ampatuan, Maguindanao del Sur.
• July 7 – DI terrorists kill two patrolmen, on their way to a company command post, in an ambush in Lambayong, Sultan Kudarat.
• July 8–9 – Two joint law enforcement operations occur in a village in Banisilan, Cotabato. Three members of a criminal gang identified with the DI are killed in the first clash where Medalya Sultan Tidong, the long-wanted gang leader, and six of his remaining companions escape. The following day, another member, Tidong's relative, is killed in another clash.
• August 6 – A joint law enforcement operation in Pikit, Cotabato, which involves an attempt to serve arrest warrants, results in the deaths of five DI-HG members, three of them are Bangsamoro's top three most wanted individuals including Marhum Esmael, the alleged leader of the group and the region's top most wanted. The five, having been wanted for various criminal charges in Cotabato City, Cotabato, Maguindanao del Sur, and Sultan Kudarat, are involved in a deadly ambush in Maguindanao del Sur in March.