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The Maute terrorist group is now on "a brink of collapse", a military spokesperson said following the series of military operations and the neutralization of the group's Amir who was allegedly the mastermind of the bombing of the gymnasium at the Mindanao State University (MSU) in 2023.

"We conduct pursuit operations so actually we know that their forces are already dwindling so the possibility that they will regroup is very slim," Col. Francel Margareth Padilla, AFP spokesperson, told reporters on Tuesday.

The AFP announced on Monday the neutralization of Khadafi Mimbesa also known as “Engineer," during the military operation in Lanao del Sur from January 25 to 26.

Mimbesa, who is allegedly the Amir of the Dawlah Islamiyah - Maute Group is also suspected to be the mastermind behind the bloody bombing of MSU gym.

"They are really a very small number because when we started we were looking at 15. We neutralized... 12 on their part and these are all very salient individuals in terms of their leadership" she added.

Padilla said the death of Mimbesa caused a "decisive blow" in the local terrorist group.

"We would like to term it as they have now a leadership vacuum, so usually these groups float out who their leader is but now they don't have that, so it shows that we were able to give a decisive blow in terms of their group," she said. Robina Asido/DMS