He said the attack occurred near the southern city of Marawi, which is under siege by Islamic militants, as justification for imposing martial law across the southern third of the country. “The chief of police in Malabang on his way home, going back he was stopped by a checkpoint manned by terrorists and I think … Read more
Islamist militants battling security forces in a southern Philippine city have taken hostages, including a local priest, the Catholic Church said Wednesday, after President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law to combat the gunmen. “Father Chito Suganob and others were in the Cathedral of Our Lady Help of Christians when members of the Maute fighting group … Read more
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has imposed martial law on the southern region of Mindanao to combat militants who have declared allegiance to the Islamic State group. Here is what we know about why he declared martial law and what happens next: Duterte acted after security forces on Tuesday battled dozens of gunmen in Marawi, a … Read more
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte warned Wednesday that martial law would be “harsh” and like a dictatorship, after imposing military rule in the south of the country to combat Islamist militants. Duterte declared martial law in the southern region of Mindanao, home to about 20 million people, on Tuesday night after gunmen who had declared allegiance … Read more
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said Wednesday martial law in the southern region of Mindanao could last a year, as he vowed it would be similar to the late Ferdinand Marcos’s dictatorship. “If it would take a year to do it, if it’s over within a month, then I’d be happy,” Duterte said in a video … Read more
A group of heavily-armed militants from a group linked to Isis have reportedly stormed a city in the Philippines and engaged in firefights with the national army. Residents of Marawi City, in the south of the country, were urged to remain indoors as at least 15 gunmen from a Muslim rebel group called Maute stormed … Read more
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law Tuesday in the southern region of Mindanao, where security forces have been battling Islamic State group-linked militants, his spokesman said. “As of 10:00pm Manila time Duterte has declared martial law for the entire island of Mindanao,” spokesman Ernesto Abella said in a nationally televised briefing from Moscow where … Read more
Philippine security forces hunting one of the world’s most-wanted Islamist militants were battling gunmen in a southern city on Tuesday, authorities said. Isnilon Hapilon, a leader of the infamous Abu Sayyaf kidnapping-for-ransom gang who the Islamic State group has appointed its Philippine chief, was believed to be among those fighting police and soldiers in Marawi … Read more
More than 24,000 people fled their homes as the Philippine military used airstrikes and artillery against Muslim extremists who have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, authorities said Thursday. Almost a week of attacks on members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) in the strife-torn southern island of Mindanao has displaced residents of six … Read more
Terrorists are planning to kidnap foreigners on a Philippine island popular with tourists, the US embassy has warned, a month after a foiled abduction attempt by Islamic militants at another tourism hotspot. An advisory from the US embassy in Manila on Tuesday warned Americans to “carefully consider” going to Palawan, naming a World Heritage-listed underground … Read more
Philippine police believe a Shiite Muslim cleric was the likely target of explosions that killed two people in Manila, an official said Sunday, rejecting Islamic State claims of involvement. Six others were injured when two explosions rocked the office of the imam, Nasser Abinal, in the capital’s busy Quiapo district on Saturday. Oscar Albayalde, head … Read more
The first blast came from a package that was being delivered by a man on a motorcycle At least two people have been killed and six others wounded in two explosions in the Philippine capital Manila, a police spokesman said. The first blast occurred around 6:00pm (10:00 GMT) on Saturday near a mosque in Quiapo, … Read more
Two explosions in the Philippine capital on Saturday night killed at least two people and injured four others, police and witnesses said. An initial blast occurred at about 6:00pm (1000 GMT) near a Muslim mosque in Quiapo, one of the older parts of Manila where there are big slums, a police report said. That blast … Read more
The Philippine military said Sunday it would hold annual exercises with US troops next month, reaffirming its commitment to the alliance despite cooling relations under President Rodrigo Duterte. The 10-day exercises will be the first held under Duterte, who has suggested cancelling the drills and called for the withdrawal of American troops, putting into question … Read more
Islamic militants who landed on a Philippine tourist island triggering deadly clashes with security forces had planned to stage a mass kidnapping, the military said Wednesday as it pursued five fighters still on the loose. The army said the Abu Sayyaf group, notorious for a kidnap-for-ransom spree that has targeted foreigners, had planned to snatch … Read more
The Philippines sent military reinforcements to one of its most famous tourist islands Wednesday as a deadly operation to flush out heavily armed Islamic militants entered its second day. The army said the death toll rose to 10 before dawn as government forces killed a sixth gunman believed to be from the Abu Sayyaf, a … Read more
Five people including a Philippine police officer were killed Tuesday in clashes with 10 suspected members of the Abu Sayyaf kidnap group on the resort island of Bohol, authorities said. Five bodies have been recovered at the scene of the fighting, Philippine military spokesman Brigadier-General Restituto Padilla said on ABS-CBN television in Manila. At least … Read more
Two ailing Malaysian seamen held hostage by Filipino Muslim militants for eight months were found Thursday aboard a boat adrift off the southern Philippines, the local military said. Tayudin Anjut, 45, and Abdurahim bin Sumas, 62, were abandoned by the Abu Sayyaf gunmen before dawn near their coastal forest hideout on the remote island of … Read more
The Philippine military said on Sunday it had recovered the body of an elderly German hostage who was beheaded by Islamic militants last week. The Abu Sayyaf, a kidnap-for-ransom network in the southern Philippines that has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, killed Jurgen Kantner, 70, after its demands for 30 million pesos ($600,000) … Read more
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte apologised on Tuesday for failing to save an elderly German hostage who was beheaded by Islamic militants, but insisted ransoms should not be paid. The Abu Sayyaf, a kidnap-for-ransom network in the southern Philippines that has declared allegiance to the Islamic State group, killed Jurgen Kantner, 70, on Sunday after its … Read more