Abu Sayyaf

Abu Sayyaf
Participant in the Moro conflict in the Philippines, the Cross border attacks in Sabah and the Global War on Terrorism
The Black Standard of ISIL, which was adopted by Abu Sayyaf
Active	1991–present
Ideology	Islamism Islamic fundamentalism
Leaders	Abdurajik Abubakar Janjalani  † Khadaffy Janjalani  † Radullan Sahiron Isnilon Totoni Hapilon Mahmur Japuri †
Headquarters	Jolo, Sulu, Philippines
Area of operations	Philippines, Malaysia
Strength	unknown
Part of	Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
Allies	14K Triad al-Qaeda (formerly)
Opponents	Government of the Philippines Other combatants: Government of Australia Government of Canada Government of Indonesia Government of Malaysia Government of the United Kingdom Government of the United States Government of Vietnam Moro National Liberation Front Moro Islamic Liberation Front

Government of the Philippines

Abu Sayyaf (ⁱ/ˌɑːbuː/ /sɑːˌjɔːf/; Arabic: جماعة أبو سياف‎‎; Jamāʿat Abū Sayyāf, ASG; Filipino: Grupong Abu Sayyaf) is a Jihadist terror group based in and around Jolo and Basilan islands in the southwestern part of the Philippines, where for more than four decades, Moro groups have been engaged in an insurgency for an independent province in the country. The group is considered violent, and was responsible for the Philippines' worst terrorist attack, the bombing of Superferry 14 in 2004, which killed 116 people. The name of the group is derived from the Arabic abu (Arabic: أبو‎‎) ("father of"), and sayyaf (Arabic: سيّاف‎‎) ("swordsmith"). As of 2012, the group was estimated to have between 200 and 400 members, down from 1,250 in 2000. They use mostly improvised explosive devices, mortars, and automatic rifles.