Philippines Army: Foreign Jihadists Eyeing Caliphate in Mindanao by Jaime Laude - Philippine Star
MANILA, Philippines - The convergence of foreign jihadists in the country, encouraging violent extremism particularly in Sulu, is part of the Islamic State (IS)’s plan to reestablish a caliphate in Mindanao, an Army official said.
Army chief Lt. Gen. Macairog Alberto, however, assured the public government security forces are not letting its guard down and are enforcing measures to thwart the IS plan.
“It’s been reported even before. They are losing ground in the Middle East – Syria and Iraq – and they consider the roads leading to the Philippines as part of an old caliphate. So there’s an attempt to like that (reestablish the caliphate),” Alberto said.
He revealed the military has monitored a number of foreign militants in the country but did not say how many are already in Sulu, Basilan and Tawi-Tawi, the areas considered hotbeds of terrorism.
“We have reports about this. If not from Middle East, they came from countries like Malaysia and Indonesia. Sometimes we could not distinguish what countries they came from,” Alberto said.