Conflict side

IS-aligned militants Weapons and Military Equipment

IS-aligned militants is a Marawi-centered canonical side profile for the Maute-led, Abu Sayyaf-linked coalition that seized parts of Marawi in May 2017 under the Islamic State brand and fought Philippine government forces in a five-month urban battle.

16 weapon systems
Overview

IS-aligned militants refers here to the coalition of Maute Group fighters, Isnilon Hapilon's Abu Sayyaf-linked faction, foreign fighters, and allied local militants that fought Philippine government forces in the 2017 Battle of Marawi. The side is deliberately conflict-anchored: it captures the Islamic State alignment visible in Marawi without treating every Islamic State affiliate or later Dawlah Islamiyah cell as the same actor.

The Marawi force combined local clan networks, jihadist branding, foreign-fighter links, and a prepared urban defense. Open sources describe a Maute-led and Abu Sayyaf-linked force that used hostages, snipers, improvised explosive devices, Molotov cocktails, drones, RPGs, recovered or smuggled firearms, and pre-cut building passages to hold dense city terrain until Philippine forces killed senior leaders and cleared the main battle area.

The side's core battlefield identity comes from the May 23, 2017 raid that targeted Isnilon Hapilon and triggered the premature execution of a larger militant plan for Marawi. U.S. State Department reporting describes the occupying force as terrorist organizations pledging support to ISIS, including a faction of Abu Sayyaf, the Maute Group, and others. Amnesty International similarly frames the battle as Philippine forces against militants allied to the armed group calling itself Islamic State.

Maute Group influence made the Marawi side more than a generic foreign jihadist detachment. Modern War Institute analysis identifies the Maute brothers as leaders from an influential Marawi family, while Combating Terrorism Center research on Maute recruits emphasizes varied local pathways into the group, including kinship, friendship, financial pressure, revenge, redemption narratives, and religious or ideological motives.

The Islamic State connection still mattered operationally and politically. Combating Terrorism Center research treats the battle as the most significant Islamic State-related event in Southeast Asia and describes a united front of the Maute Group and Hapilon's ASG-Basilan-led coalition during Marawi. IPAC warned during the siege that pro-ISIS fighters holding a Philippine city had regional implications for extremist strategy and inspiration.

The equipment picture is irregular rather than standardized. Cataloged Marawi records linked to this side emphasize recovered small arms, RPG-family weapons, improvised explosive devices, Molotov cocktails, and sniper or anti-armor effects in urban terrain. Public sources are strongest for recovered weapons and observed battlefield roles; they are weaker for procurement routes, exact variants, unit custody, and whether a specific recovered item was fired in a specific engagement.

Marawi coalitionMaute GroupAbu Sayyaf-linked leadershipurban militant tacticsirregular arsenal
Featured Weapons
Improvised explosive device, Improvised explosive device, Munitions

Improvised explosive device

Represents the prepared explosive and booby-trap layer already linked to IS-aligned militants in the Marawi catalog record.

Munitions / Improvised explosive device
RPG Launcher, Shoulder-fired anti-armor rocket-propelled grenade launcher, Infantry Weapons

RPG Launcher

Highlights the shoulder-fired anti-armor and direct-fire threat documented against Philippine armored movement in Marawi.

Infantry Weapons / Shoulder-fired anti-armor rocket-propelled grenade launcher
AK-47/AKM rifle family, Selective-fire assault rifle family, Infantry Weapons

AK-47/AKM rifle family

Represents the Kalashnikov-pattern small-arms layer recorded in Marawi militant-use and recovery sources.

Infantry Weapons / Selective-fire assault rifle family
Pindad SS1-V1, 5.56 mm assault rifle, Infantry Weapons

Pindad SS1-V1

Highlights a narrowly sourced captured rifle example that illustrates the mixed and non-standard character of the militant arsenal.

Infantry Weapons / 5.56 mm assault rifle
Marawi Coalition And Islamic State Alignment

The coalition that fought in Marawi was built around overlapping local and transnational identities. U.S. State Department reporting identifies the occupying organizations as ISIS-supporting groups that included a faction of Abu Sayyaf, the Maute Group, and others. Amnesty International describes the opposing force as militants allied to the armed group calling itself Islamic State.

Modern War Institute analysis names the Maute brothers and Isnilon Hapilon as central figures in the planned seizure. It describes a force that had infiltrated fighters, weapons, explosives, drones, and media equipment into the city before the May 23 raid forced the attackers to move earlier than planned.

The Islamic State brand helped unify otherwise local networks, but the side should still be read as a Marawi coalition. CTC research says the battle changed Philippine Islamic State-linked militancy from the Marawi-period united front into a more decentralized structure afterward, which is why this canonical profile remains anchored to the conflict-side mapping rather than all later cells.

Local Recruitment, Kinship, And Foreign Fighter Links

The Maute component had deep local roots. Modern War Institute analysis describes Abdullah and Omarkhayam Maute as brothers from an influential Marawi family involved in criminal and terrorist activity, while CTC interviews with former Maute members found varied recruit profiles rather than a single social type.

Those interviews point to pre-existing friends or relatives in the network and financial pressure as the most important joining factors among the interviewed former members, with revenge, redemption, religious learning, and jihadist motivation appearing as secondary drivers. That supports a side profile based on networked mobilization rather than a conventional force structure.

Foreign involvement remains part of the profile but should not override the local frame. CTC's broader Southeast Asia study states that many foreign and foreign-trained fighters fought under Hapilon's command during Marawi, while the catalog profile treats that as support for coalition composition, not as proof that every weapon or fighting position was externally supplied.

Prepared Urban Defense And Hostage-Control Tactics

Marawi's built environment favored defenders who could exploit reinforced concrete, narrow routes, basements, and tunnels. Modern War Institute analysis says the militants prepared the city before the battle with mouseholes between and inside buildings, improvised explosive devices, Molotov cocktails, drones, video equipment, and civilian-control measures.

The Australian Army Research Centre emphasizes the sniper and marksman threat to Philippine forces. It describes local insurgent snipers using high ground, planned firing positions, loophole shooting, stairwell shots, dummy hides, and hostage shielding to slow maneuver and impose delay.

These tactics explain why the cataloged side profile is dominated by infantry weapons, improvised munitions, sniper threats, and RPG-family systems rather than formal order-of-battle equipment. Side-level sources support the tactical pattern; individual weapon records remain the place for model-specific Marawi use claims.

Irregular Arsenal And Recovered Materiel

The linked weapon archive shows a mixed arsenal: rifles from several design families, RPG launchers and rounds, improvised explosive devices, Molotov cocktails, a recoilless-rifle role, and recovered machine guns or precision rifles. This mixture fits a non-state coalition drawing from local holdings, battlefield capture, smuggling, and legacy circulation.

Philippine News Agency reporting on post-battle clearing listed submerged firearms recovered near the Maute group's last position, including .50-caliber and M60 machine guns, M14 rifles, .50-caliber sniper rifles, AK-47 rifles, carbines, FAL rifles, an M79, and M16 rifles. A separate PNA report documented RPG launchers and high-explosive RPG rounds recovered from the former main battle area and attributed by officials to Daesh-inspired Maute militants.

ARES coverage of a Maute arms seizure documented a Pindad SS1-V1 captured alongside commercial and military AR-type rifles, illustrating the non-standard character of the side's small arms. The profile therefore treats featured weapons as representative catalog links, not a complete inventory.

Selected Timeline
  1. Maute Group pledges allegiance to Islamic State

    Modern War Institute analysis identifies the Maute Group's 2016 allegiance pledge as a key step before the Marawi seizure.

  2. Raid on Hapilon triggers the battle

    Philippine forces attempted to capture Isnilon Hapilon in Marawi, and the militant coalition moved from preparation into citywide fighting.

  3. Urban seizure begins early

    Modern War Institute analysis says the militants had planned a later offensive but acted early after the raid, using prepared positions, hostages, and violence across the city.

  4. Hapilon and Omar Maute killed

    Philippine and open-source accounts place the deaths of Isnilon Hapilon and Omar Maute in the final phase of the main battle area fight.

  5. Combat operations end

    Philippine authorities ended combat operations after the five-month battle, followed by clearing operations that continued to recover militant materiel.

IS-aligned militants Context
Attribution Boundary

This profile maps the conflict-local Marawi side. It does not merge every later Dawlah Islamiyah, Islamic State East Asia, Abu Sayyaf, BIFF, or Southeast Asian pro-Islamic State faction into one reusable command identity.

Sources

The profile uses a narrow Marawi conflict-side boundary. Evidence is strongest for coalition identity, Islamic State alignment, broad urban tactics, recovered materiel, and post-battle clearing reports. It is weaker for exact procurement routes, internal command hierarchy below senior figures, foreign-fighter numbers, and whether every recovered weapon was fired during a specific engagement.

  • Country Reports on Terrorism 2017 - PhilippinesPublisher: U.S. Department of State via Refworld | Note: Supports the Marawi side as ISIS-supporting organizations including a faction of Abu Sayyaf, the Maute Group, and others, plus the martial-law and city-clearance context. | Accessed: 2026-07-03
  • Philippines: Battle of Marawi leaves trail of death and destructionPublisher: Amnesty International | Note: Supports the belligerent framing, May-to-October 2017 period, Islamic State alignment, hostage and civilian-harm context, and destruction in Marawi. | Accessed: 2026-07-03
  • Urban Warfare Case Study #8: Battle of MarawiPublisher: Modern War Institute at West Point | Note: Supports Maute leadership context, Islamic State allegiance, pre-battle infiltration, prepared urban defenses, IEDs, Molotov cocktails, drones, hostages, and final-phase leadership deaths. | Accessed: 2026-07-03
  • The Battle of Marawi: Lessons for Developing Urban CapabilitiesPublisher: Australian Army Research Centre | Note: Supports the urban-combat context, Islamic State-inspired insurgent tactics, sniper threat, firing-position methods, hostage shielding, and Marawi lessons. | Accessed: 2026-07-03
  • Rising in the East: The Evolution of the Islamic State in the PhilippinesPublisher: Combating Terrorism Center at West Point | Note: Supports the Marawi battle as a major Islamic State-linked event, the Maute and ASG-Basilan coalition frame, and the post-Marawi decentralization caveat. | Accessed: 2026-07-03
  • Relatives, Redemption, and Rice: Motivations for Joining the Maute GroupPublisher: Combating Terrorism Center at West Point | Note: Supports Maute Group recruitment patterns and the importance of kinship, friendship, financial pressure, revenge, redemption, and ideological motivations among interviewed former members. | Accessed: 2026-07-03
  • Marawi, The East Asia Wilayah and IndonesiaPublisher: Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict | Note: Supports the regional significance of pro-ISIS fighters occupying Marawi and the wider Southeast Asian extremist-network context. | Accessed: 2026-07-03
  • Troops recover 30 firearms in Marawi clearing opsPublisher: Philippine News Agency | Note: Supports post-battle recovery of mixed firearms near the Maute group's last position, including machine guns, M14s, .50-caliber sniper rifles, AK-47s, FALs, an M79, and M16s. | Accessed: 2026-07-03
  • Marawi clearing operations yield high-powered weaponsPublisher: Philippine News Agency | Note: Supports recovery of RPG launchers, high-explosive RPG rounds, rifle grenades, and other armaments from Marawi's former main battle area after combat operations. | Accessed: 2026-07-03
  • Maute gunman hits armored personnel carrier with RPGPublisher: GMA News Online | Note: Supports the RPG threat against Philippine armored movement during early Marawi clashes. | Accessed: 2026-07-03
  • Maute GroupPublisher: Armament Research Services | Note: Supports captured Maute Group small-arms evidence, including a Pindad SS1-V1 captured alongside commercial and military AR-type rifles. | Accessed: 2026-07-03
  • Troops recover 30 guns abandoned by Maute groupPublisher: SunStar Philippines | Note: Supports post-battle reporting on recovered firearms believed abandoned by the Daesh-inspired Maute group near the end of the fighting. | Accessed: 2026-07-03
Infantry Weapons

Category

Portable weapons used by soldiers and small units.

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AR-15-pattern rifle, 5.56 mm self-loading rifle platform, Infantry Weapons2014 Russia-Ukraine War, 2017 Battle of Marawi +2 moreAR-15-pattern rifle5.56 mm self-loading rifle platformBuilt: ArmaLite / Colt / Various manufacturers / United States and multiple countriesThe AR-15-pattern rifle is a lightweight, modular self-loading rifle family derived from the ArmaLite and Colt AR-15 lineage. Cataloged conflict evidence ranges from AR-type rifles captured from IS-aligned fighters in Marawi to U.S. and Ukrainian AR-style rifles supplied or fielded during the Russia-Ukraine War.
FN Minimi light machine gun, 5.56x45mm NATO light machine gun, Infantry Weapons2017 Battle of Marawi, 2014 War Against the Islamic State +2 moreFN Minimi light machine gun5.56x45mm NATO light machine gunBuilt: FN Herstal / FN America / Belgium / United StatesThe FN Minimi is a Belgian belt-fed light machine gun developed by Fabrique Nationale for squad automatic fire, with 5.56 mm NATO models widely fielded as national variants such as the U.S. M249, Canadian C9, and Australian F89. In the 2014 Yemen Civil War, Amnesty International reported Belgian Minimis deployed by The Giants Brigades, tying the weapon to UAE-backed coalition-aligned ground forces around the Hodeidah offensive.
FN FAL, 7.62 mm battle rifle, Infantry Weapons2009 Boko Haram Insurgency, 2017 Battle of Marawi +3 moreFN FAL7.62 mm battle rifleBuilt: FN Herstal / Various manufacturers / Belgium; licensed production in multiple countriesThe FN FAL is a Belgian 7.62 x 51 mm NATO battle rifle designed at Fabrique Nationale after World War II and adopted or license-produced across many Cold War armies. The cataloged record spans state service, licensed Commonwealth and Argentine derivatives, and later illicit or captured rifles documented in conflicts from the Falklands to Marawi, Boko Haram operations, Haiti, and the Islamic State fight.
M14, 7.62 mm battle rifle, Infantry Weapons1955 Vietnam War, 2003 Iraq War +3 moreM147.62 mm battle rifleBuilt: Springfield Armory / Winchester / Harrington & Richardson / Thompson-Ramo-Wooldridge / United StatesThe M14 is a U.S.-origin 7.62x51 mm NATO battle rifle developed from the M1 Garand lineage and fielded by U.S. and Marine Corps forces in Vietnam before later marksman variants kept the family in service. Direct conflict evidence in this entry ranges from Vietnam-era Marine small-unit use to M21 and M14 EBR employment in Iraq and Afghanistan and recovered insurgent rifles in Nigeria and Marawi.
Browning Automatic Rifle, Automatic rifle / light machine gun, Infantry Weapons1955 Vietnam War, 2017 Battle of MarawiBrowning Automatic RifleAutomatic rifle / light machine gunBuilt: Winchester Repeating Arms / Colt / Marlin-Rockwell / United StatesThe Browning Automatic Rifle was a U.S. .30-06 automatic rifle designed by John M. Browning for mobile infantry fire and later used as a squad automatic weapon. Cataloged conflict evidence places legacy BARs in the 1955 Vietnam War through ARVN, Montagnard, and Viet Cong use, and in the 2017 Battle of Marawi as captured IS-aligned militant materiel.
M67 90 mm recoilless rifle, Crew-served 90 mm recoilless rifle, Infantry Weapons1955 Vietnam War, 1982 Falklands War +2 moreM67 90 mm recoilless rifleCrew-served 90 mm recoilless rifleBuilt: U.S. government production / Kia Motors / United States; South KoreaThe M67 is a U.S.-origin 90 mm recoilless rifle built as a crew-served direct-fire weapon for infantry anti-armor, bunker, and antipersonnel missions. Its record spans Australian and U.S. service in Vietnam, U.S. reissue in Afghanistan, Argentine fielding in the Falklands War, South Korean KM67 production, and later 90-RR reporting in the 2017 Battle of Marawi.
.30-Caliber Machine Gun, Crew-served medium machine gun, Infantry Weapons1968 Moro Conflict, 2017 Battle of Marawi.30-Caliber Machine GunCrew-served medium machine gunBuilt: Unknown / Various manufacturers / Unknown for the recovered weapons; representative Browning M1919-family guns were built in the United States and allied production linesThe .30-caliber machine gun entry covers model-unspecified crew-served automatic weapons recovered from IS-linked militant contexts in Mindanao. Philippine reporting documented one gun among weapons cleared from Marawi's former Main Battle Area after the 2017 Battle of Marawi, and a later Philippine Army-sourced report listed one .30 caliber machine gun recovered after a 2022 clash with Dawlah Islamiya-Maute Group members in Maguing, Lanao del Sur. The public sources did not identify whether either weapon was a Browning M1919-family gun or another .30-caliber pattern.
Rifle grenades, Rifle-launched grenade family, Infantry Weapons1955 Vietnam War, 2003 Iraq War +4 moreRifle grenadesRifle-launched grenade familyBuilt: Various manufacturers / Multiple countriesRifle grenades are a broad family of grenades projected from service rifles by rod, cup, spigot, muzzle-device, bullet-trap, or shoot-through launch methods. World War I examples extended infantry grenade reach with explosive, smoke, signal, message, and emerging anti-tank payloads, while postwar HEAT designs such as the British No. 94 Energa and U.S. M31 used shaped charges for short-range anti-armor fire. The cataloged conflict record spans rifle-launched use, recovered ammunition, and modern reuse of rifle-grenade munitions as drone payloads in Myanmar and Ukraine.
AK-47/AKM rifle family, Selective-fire assault rifle family, Infantry Weapons2016 Colombian FARC Dissident Conflict, 2022 Haitian Gang Conflict +12 moreAK-47/AKM rifle familySelective-fire assault rifle familyBuilt: Various manufacturers / Soviet Union / Russia / China / multiple countriesAK-47/AKM-family rifles are Kalashnikov-pattern small arms derived from the Soviet AK-47 and 1959 AKM modernization, usually chambered in 7.62 x 39 mm. In the post-2015 catalog they appear with FARC dissidents in Colombia, gangs in Haiti, PKK fighters, GNA scouts in Libya, insurgents in Mali, Islamic State forces in Iraq and Syria, militants in Sinai, RSF units in Sudan, Hamas fighters in Gaza, Taliban fighters in Afghanistan, Boko Haram-linked militants in the Lake Chad basin, and Houthi-linked supply chains in Yemen.
Barrett M82A1 / M107, Semi-automatic .50 BMG anti-materiel rifle, Infantry Weapons2017 Battle of Marawi, 2014 Yemen Civil War +1 moreBarrett M82A1 / M107Semi-automatic .50 BMG anti-materiel rifleBuilt: Barrett Firearms Manufacturing / United StatesThe Barrett M82A1, adopted by the U.S. Army as the M107 and later developed into the lighter M107A1, is a recoil-operated semi-automatic .50 BMG anti-materiel rifle for long-range fire against equipment, light materiel, and protected positions. Its conflict record in this catalog is strongest where sources directly identify .50-caliber Barrett or M82A1 rifles: Maute-held sniper positions in Marawi, Houthi-aligned use in Yemen, and 400 Mawozo-linked gang arsenals in Haiti.
M1 Garand, Semi-automatic battle rifle, Infantry Weapons2017 Battle of Marawi, 1969 Communist Insurgency in the PhilippinesM1 GarandSemi-automatic battle rifleBuilt: Springfield Armory / Winchester Repeating Arms / International Harvester / Harrington & Richardson / United StatesThe M1 Garand is a U.S.-origin .30-06 semi-automatic service rifle designed by John C. Garand and mass-produced for World War II and Korean War service. Modern catalog relevance comes from documented legacy circulation: captured examples appeared with IS-aligned militants in Marawi, while Philippine reporting later tied Garand rifles to New People's Army holdings in the ongoing communist insurgency.
RPG Launcher, Shoulder-fired anti-armor rocket-propelled grenade launcher, Infantry Weapons1991 Somali Civil War, 1991 Sierra Leone Civil War +2 moreRPG LauncherShoulder-fired anti-armor rocket-propelled grenade launcherBuilt: Various manufacturers / Multiple, including Soviet Union/Russia, China, Bulgaria, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Romania, and EgyptRPG launchers are portable infantry anti-armor and direct-fire weapons used to fire explosive grenades against vehicles, buildings, helicopters, and fortified positions. This generic record covers conflict sources that identify RPG use without enough detail to assign a narrower model, from Mogadishu and Freetown to Darfur and Marawi.
Munitions

Category

Standalone missiles, bombs, rockets, torpedoes, and guided or unguided explosive payloads.

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Molotov cocktails, Hand-thrown improvised incendiary weapon, Munitions2003 Iraq War, 2017 Battle of Marawi +1 moreMolotov cocktailsHand-thrown improvised incendiary weaponBuilt: Improvised / Locally Fabricated / Varies by userMolotov cocktails are hand-thrown improvised incendiary weapons built around a breakable container and ignition source, but wartime examples range from ad hoc bottles to semi-standardized military incendiary grenades. The cataloged conflict record now spans U.S. Marine use during Fallujah house-clearing in the 2003 Iraq War, IS-aligned militant use against Philippine troops in Marawi, and Ukrainian volunteer production and distribution during the 2022 full-scale Russian invasion.
Improvised explosive device, Improvised explosive device, Munitions2014 Yemen Civil War, 2019 India-Pakistan Border Skirmishes +12 moreImprovised explosive deviceImprovised explosive deviceBuilt: Local fabrication by armed groups / VariousImprovised explosive devices are field-built bombs assembled from commercial, homemade, or military components and triggers. The documented family spans roadside and pressure-plate bombs, vehicle-borne suicide devices, radio-controlled charges, water-borne attack craft, booby traps, and repurposed ordnance across insurgent, terrorist, and state use cases.
RPG high-explosive rounds, Unguided rocket-propelled grenade ammunition, Munitions2017 Battle of MarawiRPG high-explosive roundsUnguided rocket-propelled grenade ammunitionBuilt: Various manufacturers, including Bulgarian producers VMZ Sopot and Arcus; Russian OG-7V examples are cataloged by Rosoboronexport / Russia / Bulgaria / other RPG ammunition-producing countriesRPG high-explosive rounds are unguided explosive or fragmentation projectiles fired from reusable rocket-propelled grenade launchers, especially RPG-7-family weapons. The Marawi recovery source identifies high-explosive RPG rounds but not the exact model, so this page treats the record as a family-level munition entry and uses OG-7V, OFG-7V, and similar RPG-7-compatible rounds as representative technical examples.