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Islamic State of Lanao, commonly referred to as Dawlah Islamiya and formerly known as the Maute Group ( or ), is a radical Islamism group composed of former Moro Islamic Liberation Front guerrillas and foreign fighters. Based in Lanao del Sur, it was founded by brothers Abdullah Maute and Omar Maute. The organization, which also operated a protection racket in the municipality of Butig, clashes on several occasions with the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the most significant of which began in May 2017 and culminated in the siege of Marawi.
It is listed as a terrorist organization by the Philippines, Malaysia and New Zealand.
Butig, the headquarters of the Maute group, is also a stronghold of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and both groups are tied by blood or marriage. Abdullah and Omar Maute are of Azisa Romato, the wife of the late MILF Vice Chairman for Military Affairs Alim Abdul Aziz Mimbantas, who is buried in Butig. The Maute brothers themselves were once members of the MILF.
The group was involved in a clash with Philippine Army troops in February 2016 that led to the capture of their headquarters in Butig, Lanao del Sur. It was initially reported that Omar Maute was killed in the clash. However, it was later confirmed that he escaped alive, as he was later seen in a video footage found on a cellphone captured by Philippine government troops during the Battle of Marawi. In November 2016, the Maute group seized the town of Butig, but were dislodged from their positions by Philippine security forces after about a week of fighting.
CNN has reported that two officers of the Philippine National Police had defected and joined the group.
Although some reports indicate that the Maute group is regularly seen carrying black flags bearing the insignia of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, Butig town mayor Ibrahim Macadato has stated that the group is not affiliated with ISIS, but are merely armed residents. However, training manuals and other documents for militants under the Islamic State were recovered from their captured camp, indicating that the group may be trying to link up with ISIS.
A regional security expert in October 2016 stated that the Maute group was sophisticated in its use of social media and was able to attract students and teachers from the Mindanao State University in Marawi. This attracted various Wahhabi adherents in the Philippines to join their group.
The Maute group is said to be actively recruiting minors for service as "child warriors" and using the non-passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law as propaganda. In April 2016, they abducted six sawmill workers from Butig, two of whom were later found beheaded. The group is also suspected of being behind a failed bomb plot in close proximity to the US embassy in Manila in November 2016.
Majority of the evacuees and refugees have been housed in different in Iligan. On June 1, 2017, Iligan Mayor Celso G. Regencia issued an order to the residents, who legally possessed firearms, to shoot terrorists who trespass their properties.
On 12 March, two IS-militants and two Philippine soldiers were killed and one soldier was injured during a gunfight in Pagayawan, Lanao del Sur. The attack was blamed on the Dawlah Islamiyah Ranao, a remnant of the Maute-Abu Sayaff Group that led the siege of Marawi in May 2017. Days later on the 14 March four IS-linked Maute followers and three soldiers were killed while three other troops were missing following an intense firefight in barangay Dinaigan, Tubaran, Lanao del Sur, military officials said Friday. After the speculation of the death of the leader of this group a DNA test released in April confirmed that Maute leader Owayda Marohomsar, alias Abu Dar, was one of the four terrorists killed.
On 19 June, a Pakistani member called Waqar Ahmad, 36, was arrested and later deported. Morente said Ahmad was to undergo deportation proceedings for being an undesirable alien due to his alleged terrorist links and for working in the country without a permit. He was arrested after several days of intensive surveillance conducted by members of the PNP Regional Intelligence Unit 9 at the appliance store of his Pakistani uncle in the said city. The authorities suspect that the group planned to make an attack similar to the 2019 Indanan bombings. On 21 June, an Indonesian militant who fought alongside the Maute Group during the rebels siege of Marawi in 2017. The Taguig Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 266 has found Muhammad Ilham Syahputra guilty of the illegal possession of a handgun when he was arrested on November 1, 2017.
Between 2020 and 2022, at least 39 militants, six soldiers, three police officers and a number of civilians were killed, mainly during army's operations aimed at capturing surviving members of the group.
On April 18, Dawlah Islamiyah and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters militants carried out a bombing attack on a bus in Isulan, Sultan Kudarat, wounding seven civilians.
Between June and December 2023, twenty-one senior members of the group were killed during security operations in Mindanao. Several commanders were among those killed, including leader Abu Zacharia. On October 29, 2023, senior commander Samaon Odin Amil accidentally killed himself after a home-made bomb prematurely exploded in Datu Salibo. A soldier was killed and three injured during an operation in June.
On September 11, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front clashed with Dawlah Islamiyah gunmen in Barangay Tuawayan, killing two of them. A one-month-old boy died during evacuations of civilians amid the fight.
Eleven of the slain militants were killed by the 6th Infantry Division on December 3, 2023, including Alandoni Macadaya Lucsadatu, suspected to be a leader. He was involved in the killing of a former militant who surrendered to authorities. Sixteen hours later, a bomb exploded during a Catholic Mass at the gymnasium of Mindanao State University in Marawi, killing four people and injuring several more. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack. It was suspected that the attack was carried out by Dawlah Islamiya in retilation for the killing of their militants.
Between December 7 and 9, a joint operation between the army and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in Dalgan, executed by air and ground attacks, killed nine militants and wounded ten more. Eight Moro Islamic Liberation Front members were killed during the . Dawlah Islamiyah gunmen also killed five civilians in Pagalungan before fleeing on . On December 7, they also carried out another attack in Pagalungan, killing a Bangsamoro commander and burning civilian homes, killing an infant. Dawlah Islamiyah carried out the attacks after blaming the Bangsamoro for the military offensives against them.
On January 3, 2024, two army intelligence operatives were killed during an ambush in Munai while gathering informations about suspects involved in the university's bombing. Nine militants were killed by the military in Piagapo on January 26, 2024, during a hunting on the alleged mastermind of the Mindanao University's attack. The operation resulted in the killing of leader Khadafi Mimbesa, Saumay Saiden, alleged mastermind in the university's bombing, and Abdul Hadi, who assembled the device used in the attack. Three other militants were killed in encounters days later. A gunfight erupted on February 18, 2024, in Barangay Ramain, which resulted in the killing of six soldiers and three militants. Three other soldiers were injured. Two days later, the group carried out a grenade attack against a military base in Aguak, Maguindanao del Sur, wounding three soldiers.
On February 26, three other militants were killed and three soldiers injured in Barangay Matampay during a pursuit operation against seven militants who managed to flee during the February 18 firefight.
On March 17, 2024, ten Dawlah Islamiya gunmen carried out an ambush against the military from the 40th Infantry Battalion on the highway of Tuayan 1 in Datu Hoffer Ampatuan, Maguindanao del Sur. Four soldiers were killed.
Three militants were killed and a soldier was injured during a shootout in Lanao del Norte on April 13, 2024.
On April 29, units from the 103rd Infantry Brigade engaged twelve militants led by leader Nasser Daud in a 45-minute firefight in Barangay Cadayonan in Munai, Lanao del Norte. Three militants were killed and two soldiers injured. A second encounter later erupted in Barangay Maganding, also in Munai town, during the pursuit of escaped militants, in which two more militants were killed and a soldier was injured. Daud escaped from the scene.
On May 24, 2024, two militants wanted for high-profile crimes were killed during a shootout with security forces in Barangay Talcon. On July 20, a military vehicle was ambushed by twenty militants, resulting in a shootout in which a soldier was killed and another wounded.
On June 3, 2025, 7 members of the Dawlah Islamiya group surrendered in the hinterlands of Upi town, Maguindanao del Norte.
On June 24, 2025, government forces arrested an alleged bomb-making expert of the Dawlah Islamiya following a clash in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao del Norte.
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