An independent monitoring group, Climate Conflict Action Asia (CCAA), has warned of a resurgence of violent extremism in Mindanao following an ambush in Lanao del Norte that killed four soldiers. The January 23 attack in Barangay Lininding, Munai town, was allegedly carried out by remnants of Dawlah Islamiyah (DI), contradicting military claims that militant groups in the area had been largely neutralized. The incident points to growing operational capacity among extremists amid upcoming elections in the Bangsamoro region.
On January 23, 2026, four soldiers were ambushed and killed in Barangay Lininding, Munai town, Lanao del Norte, by an armed group. The Climate Conflict Action Asia (CCAA), an independent non-profit monitoring organization, views the attack as a sign of the resurgence of Dawlah Islamiyah (DI), a militant group previously described by the military as a 'spent force' after the 2017 Marawi siege.
CCAA issued its warning on January 24, just a day before another assault on Shariff Aguak Mayor Akmad Ampatuan in Maguindanao del Sur, where attackers used a rocket-propelled grenade. Ampatuan, a witness in the 2009 Maguindanao massacre case, and his companions survived, though three suspects were killed hours later in Datu Unsay town.
CCAA's data indicates a 91% rise in violent extremist incidents, from 23 in 2024 to 44 in 2025, encompassing deadly clashes that claimed at least 30 lives, arrests of DI-linked financiers and drug dealers, and seizures of high-powered firearms and improvised explosive devices. 'This resurgence comes at a particularly critical and vulnerable moment,' stated CCAA communications manager Louise Marie Lara, referencing the upcoming Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) parliamentary elections and national polls in 2028. She cautioned that renewed violence could undermine the Bangsamoro peace process.
Abdullah Macapaar, known as Commander Bravo and a senior Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) leader in the Bangsamoro parliament, condemned the ambush as 'downright haram,' or forbidden under Islamic law. He expressed sympathy to the victims' families and pledged assistance from his MILF units in northwestern Mindanao to track the perpetrators. The MILF and government signed the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro in 2014, ending decades of conflict and establishing the autonomous region.
CCAA has documented ongoing recruitment by extremists in the Lanao and Maguindanao areas over the past two years, including the November 15, 2025, clash in Pagayawan, Lanao del Sur, that killed DI leader Abu Jihad and his wife. The group urges enhanced government-civil society collaboration, better monitoring of extremist hotspots, and reintegration programs to address radicalization's root causes.
