There are about 1,200 Islamic State (IS) group operatives in the Philippines, including foreigners of whom 40 are from Indonesia, the Indonesian defence minister told an international security forum Sunday. Speaking in Singapore amid a bloody standoff between Philippine troops and militants fighting under the IS flag in Marawi city, Defence Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu called … Read more
A young fisherman flew home to the Philippines on Wednesday after being given up for dead at sea, battling hunger, thirst and despair for nearly two months on a tiny boat that drifted all the way to Papua New Guinea. Rolando Omongos, 21, recounted an astonishing tale of survival as he arrived from his first-ever … Read more
With ultra-fast boats, millions in ransom payments and sympathetic locals, pro-Islamic State militants on lawless southern Philippines islands who beheaded a German hostage this week have re-emerged as one of the nation’s top threats. The Philippines is planning to bring in foreign maritime forces to help fight the Abu Sayyaf, after a kidnapping spree that … Read more