By itself, the ICC presents a limited military threat. Talks with other separatists have been stalemated. On many fronts, the 1996 peace accords appear to be failing. The government in Manila is striking an increasingly harder line, as well. Despite claiming thousands of members, the ICC has in fact been a small militant faction since 1995.
Government estimates place membership in the low hundreds.
The ICC split from the larger front in 1995 during the final stages of peace talks. In April 1995, the ICC and the Muslim terrorist group Abu Sayyaf attacked the predominantly Christian town of Ipil in Zamboanga Del Sur Province. More than 100 were left either dead or wounded. Misuari expelled Alam from the front after the attack. In 1996, Alam claimed that the ICC had 300 fighters trained in Afghanistan and Syria, plus 3,000 Muslim rebels.