It was not whether but when ISIS, also known as Islamic State (IS), would appoint the successor to Isnilon Hapilon, following the death of the Emir of ISIS Philippines on 20 October 2017 in Marawi City. There were conflicting reports as to who had been appointed as the new point man of the jihadi organisation. But by early November 2017, it became clear that Amin Baco, a Malaysian, has been designated as the new leader of Southeast Asia’s most embattled jihadi outfit, at the core of which is the Abu Sayyaf Group in southern Philippines.

Initially, another Malaysian, Dr Mahmud Ahmad, was believed to have been appointed as the ‘Emergency Emir’, but he was also killed by Philippine security forces. While the five-month Marawi siege ended in the deaths of key jihadists such as Hapilon and Mahmud, the Philippines Police Chief Director-General, Ronald Dela Rosa, said it also led to the emergence of Amin as the new ISIS emir.

… Jasminder Singh is a Senior Analyst with the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research (ICPVTR), a constituent unit of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.