Terror Trends Bulletin

Philippine island of Mindanao, site of bloody Jihadist insurgency

Not a week goes by these days in which we are not reminded that there is a global Jihadist insurgency. It is not homogenous; the various Islamic insurgent groups are not united. But they do all possess the same basic goal: to see to it that allah’s law rules supreme on earth.

Yes, we’re in a world war. Our enemies know it, but we continue to deny it.

For example, the Jihadist insurgency in the southern Philippines, which has been going on for many years, continues to flare up periodically. It’s a bloody war that most of the world knows nothing about because the Western media rarely reports on it.

The Philippine government made the mistake of entering into a truce with the Jihadist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) almost a year ago. (Please, no stupid jokes about this savage group’s acronym.)

Members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and flag

Right from the start, a breakaway Jihadist faction, the Boro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), continued waging Jihad despite the truce. In addition, in the latest outbreak, members of the MILF were reportedly involved.

Boro Islamic Freedom Fighters jihadis

It all started when Filipino police conducted a raid looking for Malaysian bomb-maker and Jemaah Islamiyah leader Zulkifli bin Hir. (Jemaah Islamiyah is a third Jihadist organization based out of Malaysia.)

Also known as “Marwan,” Zulkifli bin Hir is believed to have conducted bomb making training for yet another Jihadist group, Abu Sayyaf. The U.S. is offering a $5 million reward for him. He is believed to have been hiding in the Southern Philippines since 2003.

Abu Sayyaf flag…look familiar? It should.

Anyway, the operation did not go well unfortunately. Depending on whose numbers you use, somewhere between 37 and 64 Filipino police officers of the elite Special Action Force were killed in the operation and an unknown number of others may have been captured.

“This is the single-largest loss of life in recent memory to our security forces,” Interior Minister Mar Roxas said at a televised press conference.

Only 11 Jihadis were killed, 6 BIFF and 5 MILF, and none are believed to have been bin Hir/Marwan.

The Philippine armed forces are now being reduced to calling on the Jihadists to release any prisoners they may have taken.

The operation took place in an area controlled by the MILF. The fact that BIFF Jihadis were also operating in the area and the fact that the Philippine police suspect that a notorious, most wanted Jihadi is hiding out there tells us all we need to know about the worth of the so-called truce.

The Philippine government has joined its European and American counterparts in going into full-blown denial about the apparent failure of its truce with the Jihadists.