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9 Minutes of The 2017 Siege of Marawi, Philippines
Published 2 months ago
This video shows some of the MOUT and CQB operations of the Philippine Armed Forces as they took on Abu Sayaf and other Islamic State militants in 2017. An attempt to capture the leader of Abu Sayaf, Isnilon Hapilon, turned into a firefight, which spiraled into a five-month-long siege. Looking like a strange temporal mix of the Vietnam and Iraq wars, the fight for Marawi represents the longest urban battle in the contemporary military history of the Philippines since World War II. As such, it served to highlight both successes and shortcomings in the Philippine military's training and doctrine. The 1st Infantry Division, denoted here by the inverted red triangle insignia, is considered exemplar at counterinsurgency operations- the need for which is self evident in the Philippines- but Marawi exposed weaknesses in their MOUT and CQB training. Also present are the Philippines' Scout Rangers, identified by SOCOM Arrow and Black Panther patches. The M113 APCs are shown with improvised wooden armor to mitigate Abu Sayaf's ersatz RPG rounds.