DUDLEY KNOX LIBRARY
Naval Postgraduate School
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DUDLEY KNOX LIBRARY |
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Description
The ASG is the smallest and most radical of the
Islamic separatist groups operating in the southern Philippines. Some
ASG members have studied or worked in the Middle East and developed ties
to mujahidin while fighting and training in Afghanistan. The
group split from the Moro National Liberation Front in 1991 under the
leadership of Abdurajik Abubakar Janjalani, who was killed in a clash
with Philippine police on 18 December 1998. The ASG still is working to
fill a leadership void resulting from his death, although press reports
place his younger brother, Khadafi Janjalani, as head of the group's
operations in the Basilan Province.
Activities
Uses bombs, assassinations, kidnappings, and
extortion payments to promote an independent Islamic state in western
Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago, areas in the southern Philippines
heavily populated by Muslims. Raided the town of Ipil in Mindanao in
April 1995, the group's first large-scale action. Suspected of several
small-scale bombings and kidnappings in 1999.
Strength
Unknown but believed to have about 200 fighters.
Location/Area of Operation
The ASG operates in the southern
Philippines with members occasionally traveling to Manila.
External Aid
Probably receives support from Islamic
extremists in the Middle East and South Asia.
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