(New York, NY) – The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) today released a new resource on Islamist terrorist organization the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), as Philippine authorities investigate ASG’s murder of a German woman and the kidnapping of her husband from their sailboat.

ASG is an Islamist terrorist organization founded in 1991 by Abdurajak Janjalani, who took the nom de guerre Abu Sayyaf, “Father of Swordsmen.” The group seeks to establish an independent Islamic state in the southern Philippines. Unlike other Muslim separatist groups, however, ASG was not willing to negotiate with the Philippine government to achieve autonomy.

ASG is notorious for kidnapping locals and Westerners for ransom, and beheading captives if their demands are not met, a practice that predates the notorious beheadings carried out by al-Qaeda in Iraq and ISIS. ASG has received funding and training from al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiyah, provides sanctuary to foreign militant jihadists, and maintains links with other Philippines-based extremist organizations.

In 1998, ASG founder Janjalani was killed during a counterterrorism raid and ASG eventually splintered into two factions. In the summer of 2014, the leader of ASG’s Basilan-based faction, Isnilon Hapilon, pledged allegiance to ISIS and its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, drawing attention to ASG’s presence in the southern Philippines and its potential threat to Southeast Asia.

To explore the history, leadership, ideology and activities of the Abu Sayyaf Group, click here.

To learn more about Extremism and Counter Extremism in the Philippines, click here.

For requests for interviews, please contact CEP at [email protected].