Siblings Omar and Abdullah Maute are descended from a Maranao warrior clan based in Butig, Lanao del Sur,[1] the town where they were born and spent their childhood.

[5] Philippine military sources state that the siblings' father, Cayamora Maute, was a senior official of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

[6] The Mautes, according to their relatives, later established connections with Ameril Umbra Kato, the founder of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF).

The siblings reportedly sent representatives to Kato after the BIFF leader suffered a hypertensive stroke which rendered the left portion of his body paralyzed.

In May 2017, video footage found on a cellphone captured by Philippine government troops during the Battle of Marawi indicated that Omar was still alive at that time.