Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters

FormedDecember 2010
DisbandedGroup is active.
First AttackAugust 5, 2012: BIFF members launched attacks on eleven towns in the province of Maguindanao, focusing on Philippine military targets. Fighting between the BIFF and government forces lasted until the following day. (3 killed, 1+ wounded). [1]
Last AttackJuly 5, 2015: BIFF members killed an off-duty soldier in the province of Maguindanao. (1 killed, 0 wounded). [2]
UpdatedAugust 27, 2015

Narrative Summary

The Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), sometimes called the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Movement (BIFM), is an Islamic separatist organization based in the southern Philippines. It seeks an independent Islamic state for the Filipino Muslim minority, known as the Moro people, who live primarily in the Philippines’ Mindanao region. [3] [4]

The BIFF was founded in 2010 by Ameril Umbra Kato as a splinter group of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), itself a splinter group of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF). Kato had studied Islam in Saudi Arabia and was a member of the MNLF, which had emerged in the 1970s. When Hashim Salamat, another MNLF member, broke from the group to found the MILF in the 1980s, Kato followed him. Eventually, Kato became chief of the MILF’s 105th Base Command. Kato, who espoused an extreme version of Islam and admired Wahhabism, persistently advocated an independent Islamic state even as the MILF—especially under Al Haj Murad Ebrahim, who became MILF chairman after Salamat’s 2003 death—began to adopt a more amenable stance toward autonomy instead of independence. Disagreements between Kato and the MILF leadership became prominent in 2008, when Kato led his forces in a violent campaign against non-Muslim villages. His group conducted raids, destroyed property, and decapitated civilians for six months, sparking a brutal response from the Philippine military that displaced over half a million people. Kato launched these attacks to protest a Philippine Supreme Court decision, in which a peace agreement that the MILF and the Philippine government had nearly signed was declared unconstitutional. However, Kato’s forces conducted their violent campaign without the MILF leadership’s permission, and in response, the MILF demoted Kato and distanced itself from the attacks. [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]

In December 2010, Kato left the MILF and established the BIFF, which mostly included members of the MILF’s 105th Base Command and mainly operated in the province of Maguindanao. Kato announced that five thousand fighters had left the MILF to join the BIFF, but the actual number was widely believed to be around three hundred. [11] [12]

There is little information about the BIFF’s early activities. The BIFF has mainly attacked government forces and has also had skirmishes with the MILF’s armed wing, the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF). The groups have fought mostly over control of territory in Maguindanao. [13] [14]

In November 2011, Kato suffered a stroke that rendered him immobile. He remained in hiding, with his followers moving him to various locations over the next few years. Soon after Kato’s stroke, Mohammad Ali Tambako was appointed to replace Kato as the BIFF’s leader. Tambako has been referred to as the BIFF’s vice chair or vice president, but he effectively led the BIFF after Kato’s stroke. [15] [16] [17] [18]

The BIFF’s relationship with the MILF is unclear. The BIFF has launched attacks intended to undermine the MILF’s peace talks with the Philippine government, including a violent campaign against eleven villages in Maguindanao that caused over 24,000 residents to flee their homes in August 2012. However, later that same month, the BIFF announced a temporary halt of its attacks at the MILF’s request in order to allow for the scheduled resumption of MILF-Philippine government talks in Malaysia. The peace was short-lived as fighting between the BIFF and government forces soon erupted again. [19] [20] [21] [22] [23]

In 2013, Tambako left or was expelled from the BIFF after he led some supporters in an attack on the Christian population of the city of Midsayap, during which his forces decapitated a farmer. He then established another militant group called the Justice for Islamic Movement (JIM). However, Tambako retained some influence over the BIFF and may have rejoined the group a short time afterward; the BIFF and the JIM have reportedly worked together. [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] 

As the MILF and the MNLF have turned more toward political avenues for achieving their goals, the BIFF has become one of the most prominent Muslim separatist groups conducting attacks in the Philippines. On January 27, 2014, government forces launched Operation Darkhorse, a major offensive against the BIFF. Operation Darkhorse lasted until February 2014 and resulted in significant losses to the BIFF, including fifty-two deaths, forty-nine injuries, and the destruction of four camps, one of which held the BIFF’s facility for the production of bombs. The operation also displaced over 35,000 people in the provinces of Maguindanao and Cotabato. [29] [30] While the BIFF has expressed some willingness for peace negotiations, the Philippine government has not engaged in talks with the group. [31] In August 2014, the BIFF declared allegiance to the Islamic State (IS), although the declaration seemingly entailed no more than a pledge of support and has been viewed by the Philippine military as an attempt to exploit the global reputation of IS. IS has not issued a response to the BIFF’s declaration of allegiance. [32] Meanwhile, the BIFF has continued its attacks in Maguindanao, including bombings targeting civilians and attacking the Philippine military. [33] [34]

On January 25, 2015, BIFF and MILF members were involved in an attack on Philippine Special Action Force (SAF) troopers who were targeting two prominent bomb-makers wanted by the U.S. and Philippine governments. Both bomb-makers were living under the BIFF’s protection in Maguindanao. One was a Malaysian bomb-maker named Zulkifli Abdhir, also known as Marwan, who had provided bomb production training for various organizations, including the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG); Marwan was killed during the operation. The SAF’s second target was another bomb-maker, Abdul Basit Usman, who was also believed to lead a special operations division within the BIFF. Usman escaped during the battle. The SAF operation resulted in forty-four SAF trooper deaths and a backlash against the MILF-Philippine government peace process because of MILF members’ involvement in attacking the troopers. [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40]

The BIFF suffered several leadership losses in 2015. Government forces captured Tambako on March 15, and one month later, Kato—still in hiding—died from natural causes. Ismael Abubakar, who led the BIFF’s political affairs division, was then chosen to head the BIFF. In addition, Usman was killed in May, likely by bodyguards who attempted to collect the bounty on him that was offered by the United States government. [41]  [42] [43] [44] 

Leadership

There is little information regarding the BIFF’s leadership structure.

  1. Abdul Basit Usman (Unknown to 2015): Usman was a BIFF member and bombmaking expert who led a special operations division within the BIFF. He was a member of the MILF before breaking away from the group with Kato, who founded the BIFF. Usman had links to the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) and Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), and he was one of the most wanted individuals in the Philippines. He was killed in May 2015, allegedly by bodyguards who wanted to collect a bounty from the U.S. government. [45]
  2. Ameril Umbra Kato (2010 to 2011): Kato was the BIFF’s founder and first leader. He established the BIFF in December 2010 after leaving the MILF. In November 2011, Kato suffered a severe stroke; he went into hiding and remained paralyzed until his death in April 2015.[46]
  3. Mohammad Ali Tambako (2011 to Unknown): Tambako was appointed as the BIFF’s leader after Kato suffered a severe stroke in November 2011. Tambako left or was expelled from the BIFF in 2013 after leading some supporters in an attack on the Christian population of the city of Midsayap, during which his forces decapitated a farmer. He then established another militant group called the Justice for Islamic Movement (JIM). However, Tambako retained some influence over the BIFF and may have rejoined the group a short time afterward; the BIFF and the JIM have reportedly worked together. Government forces arrested Tambako on March 15, 2015. [47]
  4. Ismael Abubakar (2015 to Present): Abubakar, also known as Kumander Bungos, is the BIFF’s appointed leader. He served as the BIFF’s chief of political affairs before being chosen to head the BIFF upon Kato’s death in April 2015. [48]

Ideology & Goals

The BIFF seeks to establish an independent Islamic state in the southern Philippines for the Filipino Muslim minority, known as the Moro people. The BIFF was formed as a splinter group of the MILF in response to the latter’s acceptance of an autonomy arrangement rather than full independence during negotiations with the government. Kato, the BIFF’s founder, espoused an extreme version of Islam and admired Wahhabism. [49]

Size Estimates

Designated/Listed

The BIFF is not designated as a terrorist organization by the United States or the European Union.

Resources

Kato took many weapons from the MILF’s 105th Base Command, the MILF’s biggest and most well-armed field division, when he broke from the organization in December 2010. Consequently, the BIFF possesses a large stockpile of pistols, machine guns, sniper rifles, improvised explosive devices, landmines, and more. [51]

According to the Philippine military, the BIFF funds itself through extortion. The BIFF itself has claimed that it receives money and food donations from politicians, businessmen, and community members, describing these donations as charity rather than taxation. There is little additional information about the group’s financial sources. [52]

External Influences

The BIFF has no reported ties to foreign governments or international organizations.

Geographical Locations

The BIFF is concentrated in the provinces of Maguindanao and Cotabato, located in the Mindanao region of the southern Philippines. It has mostly operated within those provinces. [53]

Targets & Tactics

Since its 2010 formation, the BIFF has mainly attacked government forces, including police and army facilities. [54] [55] Besides clashing with Philippine soldiers, the BIFF has also attacked civilian targets through bombings and raids, especially in attempts to undermine the MILF-Philippine government peace process. At least one BIFF attack, led by BIFF leader Mohammad Ali Tambako in 2013, has specifically targeted Christians. BIFF attacks often utilize improvised explosive devices triggered by mobile phones, and they generally result in fewer than twelve casualties. [56] [57] [58] [59] [60]

Political Activities

While the BIFF has expressed some willingness for peace negotiations, it has never engaged in peace talks or any other form of nonviolent political activity. The BIFF specifically promotes armed struggle as the means of achieving an independent Moro state. The BIFF has conducted attacks to destabilize ceasefire agreements and discourage peace negotiations between the government and the MILF. In August 2012, the BIFF attacked eleven villages in Maguindanao just as MILF-Philippine government peace talks were scheduled to resume. [61] [62] [63]

Major Attacks

  1. August 5, 2012: BIFF members launched attacks on eleven towns in the province of Maguindanao, focusing on Philippine military targets. Fighting between the BIFF and government forces lasted until the following day. (3 killed, 1+ wounded).[64]
  2. January 28, 2014: The Philippine National Police (PNP) blamed the BIFF for bombing a bus terminal in Maguindanao in an attempt to distract government forces pursuing high-ranking BIFF leaders. The BIFF denied responsibility for the attack. (0 killed, 2 wounded).[65]
  3. December 9, 2014: The BIFF bombed a bus in the province of Bukidnon. Philippine authorities alleged that the attack was a test for new BIFF recruits and may also have been to attempt to extort the bus company, which had previously received demands for payment to the BIFF. (11 killed, 31 wounded).[66]
  4. January 25, 2015: Philippine Special Action Force (SAF) troopers targeted two key bomb-makers in an operation in Maguindanao. During the pursuit, the troopers were attacked by rebel forces that included BIFF members. Consideration of the Bangsamoro Basic Law, an important element of the MILF-Philippine government negotiations, was temporarily suspended after this attack. (~67 killed, 12+ wounded).[67]

Relationships with Other Groups

The BIFF broke away from the MILF in December 2010, and relations between the two groups have generally been hostile. The BIFF has clashed with the MILF’s armed wing, the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF), fighting mostly over control of territory in Maguindanao. [68] [69] The BIFF has launched attacks intended to undermine the MILF’s peace talks with the Philippine government, including a violent campaign against eleven villages in Maguindanao that caused over 24,000 residents to flee their homes in August 2012.

However, later the same month, the BIFF announced a temporary halt of its attacks at the MILF’s request in order to allow for the scheduled resumption of MILF-Philippine government talks in Malaysia. The MILF also announced that it was engaged in talks with the BIFF, encouraging it to return to its parent organization, although the BIFF ultimately rejected the idea. Peace was short-lived as fighting between the BIFF and government forces soon erupted again. [70] [71] [72] [73] [74] On January 25, 2015, BIFF and MILF members were involved in an attack on Philippine Special Action Force (SAF) troopers who were targeting two key bomb-makers in an operation in Maguindanao. The battle resulted in forty-four SAF trooper deaths and a backlash against the MILF-Philippine government peace process. However, whether the BIFF and MILF members cooperated in the attack is unclear. [75] [76] [77]

In February 2014, the MNLF announced an alliance with the BIFF. Both groups oppose the current MILF-Philippine government peace talks. The extent of the alliance is unclear. [78]

The BIFF may also be allied with the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), another Islamic separatist group in the Philippines. On September 12, 2013, a combined total of 150 BIFF and ASG members conducted a joint attack against government forces on the island of Basilan. [79] 

Additionally, the BIFF has worked with the Justice for Islamic Movement (JIM), a splinter group established in 2013 by Mohammad Ali Tambako after he left or was expelled from the BIFF. Tambako may have rejoined the BIFF a short time afterward, and the BIFF and the JIM have allegedly allied themselves against government forces. [80]  [81]  [82] [83] [84] [85]

Regarding militant groups outside the Philippines, the BIFF may have some ties to the Islamic State (IS). The BIFF declared allegiance to IS in a YouTube video uploaded on August 13, 2014; however, the Philippine authorities have dismissed the announcement as propaganda. There is no evidence of BIFF members traveling abroad to fight alongside IS, nor is there evidence of financial, logistical, or other relationships between the BIFF and IS. [86]

Community Relationships

The extent of public support for the BIFF is unclear. Fighting between the BIFF and Philippine forces or the MILF has displaced many people in the southern region of Mindanao. In August 2012, the BIFF launched a violent campaign against eleven villages in the province of Maguindanao that caused over 24,000 residents to flee their homes. [87] [88] 

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