New IPAC Report: Post-Marawi Lessons From Philippine Detainees

via IPAC, Nov 27, 2017 —

Post-Marawi Lessons from Philippine Detainees,  the latest report from the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC), examines the debriefings of seven suspects arrested in connection with the September 2016 bombing in Davao, carried out by a pro-ISIS cell in Cotabato.  It looks at patterns of recruitment and radicalisation, training, financing and coordination with other parts of the pro-ISIS coalition, especially with the Maute brothers who later led the Marawi siege.

“The sobering conclusion is that even with the decline of the ISIS ‘brand’, the narratives used to recruit violent extremists remain powerful, particularly among educated, urban Muslim youth,” says Sidney Jones, IPAC director.  “A new movement could easily emerge focusing on the need for a pure Islamic state, with or without a link to ISIS.”  She notes that many members of the Cotabato cell members were university students, not driven by poverty or lack of opportunity.

View the full summary, read the report (PDF hosted by IPAC), or visit IPAC to explore their many in-depth reports on conflict in Southeast Asia.