A major drug bust in the Philippines on Thursday highlighted the dependence of the Islamic State-linked Maute terrorist group upon income from the drug trade. A Maute suspect named Amrodin Alan Bantog was arrested with over $100,000 worth of shabu, which is the Philippine term for methamphetamines.
The Filipino army arrested the fugitive wife of a top jihadi leader of the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL)-linked Maute terrorist group, the predominantly Christian country’s armed forces reportedly confirmed on Monday.
Militants allied with the Islamic State reportedly looted a fortune in cash, gold, and jewelry from the Philippine city of Marawi during their five-month occupation last year, and have used their booty to recruit hundreds of new terrorist operatives. Although its ambitions to use Marawi as the capital of a new caliphate were thwarted, ISIS has grown strong enough to battle Philippine troops again over the weekend.
A Filipino military unit has disputed Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s claim that one of 100 sniper rifles donated by China took out the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) “emir” in Southeast Asia.
Officials in the Philippines have confirmed the deaths of the leaders of the nation’s two Islamic State affiliates, Isnilon Hapilon of Abu Sayyaf and Omar Maute of the Maute group, in the besieged would-be “caliphate” capital of Marawi.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has experienced a dizzying plunge in popularity, with the polling company Social Weather Stations (SWS) issuing him a +48 approval rating in September, down 18 points from his rating in June.
The Philippines has been battling to eradicate the Islamic State’s (ISIS) presence from its southern chain of islands as the terrorist organization seeks to secure its hold over the Islamic City of Marawi on the island of Mindanao.
Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte told reporters Wednesday that, following the liberation of the Grand Mosque of Marawi, the nation’s military could now bomb mosques, madrassas, and other hiding centers to finally eliminate the Islamic State presence in the city.
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte made his second visit to the Islamic State-controlled city of Marawi on Friday, greeting soldiers and vowing to establish a trust fund for the education of children whose parents serve in the military.
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has rescheduled a visit to jihadist-held Marawi City, following a failed attempt to land there last week. Speaking to reporters, he predicted the city will be “OK” within “ten to fifteen days” but warned that the Islamic State will remain a threat to the Asian island nation.
Reuters reported on Monday that Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was ready to make a deal with the Islamic State to end the siege of Marawi in its early days, but changed his mind without explaining why.
The Philippine military has failed to significantly move forward in the battle to liberate Marawi, the nation’s only official “Islamic city,” from the Islamic State, as President Rodrigo Duterte marks his first year in office.
The military in the Philippines has confirmed eyewitness reports that Islamic State jihadists attempting to establish a caliphate in southern Marawi city have taken civilians hostage and forced them to fight and loot for them, and have forced female hostages into sex slavery.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), currently embroiled in an operation to eradicate the Islamic State from the southern city of Marawi, have called for legislators to toughen the nation’s immigration laws so as to prevent foreign jihadists from entering the country and supporting local terrorist groups.
In a breathtaking interview with the local Philippine outlet Rappler, a former jihadist with the nation’s Maute terrorist group recalls his recruitment as a child, when Maute leaders offered his parents a shot at an Islamic education.
American troops are providing aid to their Philippine counterparts against an attempt to establish an Islamic State caliphate in the nation’s south. U.S. officials say the aid comes “at the request” of the Philippines, while President Rodrigo Duterte denies ever having asked for help.
Contents: US special forces join Philippine military fighting Islamist terrorists in Marawi; History of Abu Sayyaf and Maute Group in the Philippines
Islamic State jihadis fighting to establish a caliphate in Marawi, the Philippines’ only “Islamic city,” released a video this week showing the complete destruction of the city’s St. Mary’s Cathedral.
A video has surfaced on social media apparently produced by the Islamic State’s Amaq News Agency depicting jihadists fighting in Marawi, southern Philippines, where foreign fighters are attempting to establish a Caliphate.
The operation to defeat an attempt to establish an Islamic State Caliphate in the Philippines suffered a major setback Tuesday as the nation’s air force conducted an airstrike that killed eleven of its own soldiers.
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte accused drug traffickers Wednesday of funding the Islamic State uprising in the nation’s south, where affiliates Abu Sayyaf and the Maute group are attempting to conquer the city of Marawi.
The Islamic State has released a hostage video from the southern Philippines in which kidnapped Catholic priest Father Teresito “Chito” Suganob pleads with President Rodrigo Duterte to withdraw troops from the area, suggesting the lives of some 200 hostages are at stake, including children.
Civilians who have escaped the besieged city of Marawi in the southern Philippines say the Islamic State-affiliated jihadis fighting to establish a caliphate there are largely teenaged, with some as young as thirteen participating in the killing.
The Islamic State terrorists overrunning southern Marawi, Philippines, are reportedly forcing Christians and Muslims alike to recite Muslim prayers or face certain death, a tactic jihadists have employed in similar raids around the world.
The battle to prevent Islamic State-affiliated jihadists from establishing a Caliphate in the southern Philippines has begun, as President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the Philippine military to overtake the city of Marawi Thursday and wipe out all elements of the Maute group.
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has threatened to expand a 60-day state of emergency in southern Mindanao to the whole country should the Maute group, a terrorist organization that has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (ISIS), expand its killing spree beyond the island.
