Key Facts
- Duration
- 5 months (May 23 – Oct 23, 2017)
- Conflict type
- Urban battle / counterterrorism operation
- Militant groups
- Maute group and Abu Sayyaf (IS-affiliated)
- Buildings seized
- City Hall, MSU, hospital, city jail
- Declared liberated
- October 17, 2017 by President Duterte
Strategic Narrative Overview
Maute militants rapidly seized key city infrastructure, including Camp Ranao, Marawi City Hall, Mindanao State University, a hospital, and the city jail. They burned Saint Mary's Cathedral and two schools and took a priest and churchgoers hostage. Their stated goal was to hoist the ISIL flag over the Lanao del Sur Provincial Capitol and declare a wilayat, or IS provincial territory, in Lanao del Sur. Philippine armed forces engaged in sustained street-by-street fighting over five months.
01 / The Origins
Philippine security forces launched an operation in Marawi on May 23, 2017, to capture Isnilon Hapilon, leader of the Islamic State-affiliated Abu Sayyaf group, after reports placed him in the city. When government troops moved in, Hapilon's forces opened fire and called for reinforcements from the Maute group, an IS-pledged militant organization believed responsible for the 2016 Davao City bombing, triggering a full-scale urban battle.
03 / The Outcome
The battle ended following the deaths of militant leaders Omar Maute and Isnilon Hapilon on October 16, 2017. President Duterte declared Marawi liberated from terrorist influence the following day, and Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana formally announced the end of combat operations on October 23, 2017. The siege left large parts of the city severely damaged and displaced tens of thousands of civilians.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
2 belligerents
Isnilon Hapilon, Omar Maute.
Side B
2 belligerents
Rodrigo Duterte, Delfin Lorenzana.
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.