MANILA — The Maute Group has aligned with three other groups to sow terror in Mindanao and had planned to seize schools in Zamboanga areas and Jolo, and take grade school children there as hostages, Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III said. We are almost able to contain Marawi but they (Maute) are going to branch out,” Sotto said in a phone interview. He said that they suspected ISIS has been backing the Maute Group, which has linked up with the Abu Sayyaf, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and the Maguit Group to make up the group calling itself “Da’wahtul Islamiyah Wailayatul Mastiq” or DIWM. The extension was granted, a day after his 60-day martial law proclamation covering the entire Mindanao expired. Still, he said he believed the government would be able to wipe out this group before Dec.31 and therefore, the martial law proclamation could be lifted earlier.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer July 23, 2017 11:03 UTC