Philippines Says It Killed ISIS-Linked Leader in Push to Reclaim City<br />Rommel Banlaoi said that This is a setback,<br />16, 2017<br />MANILA — One of Asia’s most-wanted terrorists was killed Monday in the southern city of Marawi, the Philippine authorities<br />said, after thousands of government troops pushed over the weekend to reclaim the town from Islamist militants.<br />Mr. Hapilon became the leader of Abu Sayyaf in the 1990s after disavowing the Moro National Liberation Front, a Muslim separatist group<br />that had signed a peace pact with the Philippine government.<br />The terrorist who died, Isnilon Hapilon, was the leader of Abu Sayyaf, a militant<br />group affiliated with the Islamic State that has held parts of Marawi since May.<br />Mr. Hapilon’s group, Abu Sayyaf, earned a reputation for brutality, including kidnappings and beheadings.<br />Security analysts were cautiously optimistic that fighting could end this week, but they warned<br />that other militant leaders could fill the void left by Mr. Hapilon’s death.
