Isnilon Hapilon and Omar Maute, the leaders of the top terrorist groups behind the Marawi conflict who were killed by government forces, will be buried according to Islamic rites, Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff Gen. Eduardo Año said Monday.

“The bodies will be buried according to Muslim rites. We won’t disclose the location because we don’t want their sympathizers to make this a symbol of martyrdom,” he noted during a televised press briefing.

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According to Año, Hapilon and Maute were killed along the street as they emerged from a building before dawn. He also confirmed that Maute was killed by sniper fire, while Hapilon died from an encounter.

Año said DNA tests would be conducted on the two terrorists as per protocol.

Hapilon is the touted leader of ISIS in Southeast Asia as he was included in the most wanted list of the United States while Omar Maute is one of the leaders behind the Maute Terrorist Group.

The Philippines and US have each offered a bounty amounting to P10 million and $5 million, respectively, for Hapilon, while a P5-million bounty was also offered for the two Maute brothers – Omar and Abdullah.

Clashes between government forces and ISIS-linked terrorists broke out on May 23, as government forces tried to arrest Hapilon.

AFP spokesperson Maj. Gen. Restituto Padilla described the death of the two leaders as a “turning point” in the conflict.

“These two leaders have been focal personalities of this fight. Ngayon wala na sila leaderless na sila, may foreigners pero ang Pilipino kasi mag ga-gravitate sa leadership ng Pilipino,” he said. /kga

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