Four extremist groups have reportedly banded together to pledge allegiance to Islamic State and security analysts have warned that these movements should not be ignored.
[Video report]
This photo taken on August 28, 2011 the Philippine separatist group Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF). (AFP PHOTO / TED ALJIBE)
ZAMBOANGA: Against the backdrop of a spate of terrorist attacks in Europe and Asia, there are now fears that extremists in the southern Philippines have banded together to pledge their allegiance to the terror group Islamic State (IS).
The Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) and Abu Sayyaf were two of the biggest groups in the Philippines who recently announced they would join forces with IS.
"That period of the last quarter of 2013 and first quarter of 2014 - we have estimated that this was the period when several Philippine militant organisations like the Abu Sayyaf, the BIFF, the JIS embedded in Sulu and Zamboanga peninsula in central Mindanao started to prepare for the eventuality of taking their oath of allegiance,” said Rodolfo Mendoza, a terrorism expert at the Philippine Institute for Peace, Violence and Terrorism Research.
A video released in November had purportedly showed the merger of four Philippine militant groups holding an IS flag and pledging their allegiance to the militant group.
Zulkifli bin Abdu l Hir, also known as Marwan, was a notorious but elusive member of Asia-wide terrorist group, Jemaah Islamiyah. He was reportedly among the four militants who were actively recruiting Filipino Muslims for IS.
Just a year ago, Marwan was killed in a botched operation led by the Philiipine police in Zamboanga. The operation also killed 44 Special Armed Forces soldiers.
Last year, there have also been several attacks by smaller rebel groups in the name of IS across Mindanao.
A former mayor of a town on the island of Basilan, western Mindanao, said there are reports of active recruitment in local mosques and schools. "They give guns, fee, and money. The fee is 30,000 to 50,000 (pesos) (US$630 to US$1,050) per person,” said the mayor, who did not want to be named.
So far, the Philippine government and the military has denied any presence of IS.
However, security analysts have warned that these movements should not be ignored, especially given the history of the Philippines.
The Sulu archipelago in Western Mindanao, which is a strategic bridge linking the Philippines, and Malaysia, used to be a training ground for foreign terrorists, including those who went on to become part of the September 11 and Bali bombings.
Said Maria Ressa, CEO of Rappler: "ISIS is grafting onto the same extremist networks, which Jemaah Islamiyah had in the past. Jemaah Islamiyah actually used the Philippines not just as a theatre of operations but largely as a training ground and Indonesia, which has the world largest Muslim population became the theatre of operations. We’re seeing the same thing being to take shape now."
According to Mr Mendoza, the main issue holding the extremist groups back from becoming official members and launching an IS caliphate in Southeast Asia is their disunity.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/in-philippines-reports-of/2514294.html
The Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) and Abu Sayyaf were two of the biggest groups in the Philippines who recently announced they would join forces with IS.
"That period of the last quarter of 2013 and first quarter of 2014 - we have estimated that this was the period when several Philippine militant organisations like the Abu Sayyaf, the BIFF, the JIS embedded in Sulu and Zamboanga peninsula in central Mindanao started to prepare for the eventuality of taking their oath of allegiance,” said Rodolfo Mendoza, a terrorism expert at the Philippine Institute for Peace, Violence and Terrorism Research.
A video released in November had purportedly showed the merger of four Philippine militant groups holding an IS flag and pledging their allegiance to the militant group.
Zulkifli bin Abdu l Hir, also known as Marwan, was a notorious but elusive member of Asia-wide terrorist group, Jemaah Islamiyah. He was reportedly among the four militants who were actively recruiting Filipino Muslims for IS.
Just a year ago, Marwan was killed in a botched operation led by the Philiipine police in Zamboanga. The operation also killed 44 Special Armed Forces soldiers.
Last year, there have also been several attacks by smaller rebel groups in the name of IS across Mindanao.
A former mayor of a town on the island of Basilan, western Mindanao, said there are reports of active recruitment in local mosques and schools. "They give guns, fee, and money. The fee is 30,000 to 50,000 (pesos) (US$630 to US$1,050) per person,” said the mayor, who did not want to be named.
So far, the Philippine government and the military has denied any presence of IS.
However, security analysts have warned that these movements should not be ignored, especially given the history of the Philippines.
The Sulu archipelago in Western Mindanao, which is a strategic bridge linking the Philippines, and Malaysia, used to be a training ground for foreign terrorists, including those who went on to become part of the September 11 and Bali bombings.
Said Maria Ressa, CEO of Rappler: "ISIS is grafting onto the same extremist networks, which Jemaah Islamiyah had in the past. Jemaah Islamiyah actually used the Philippines not just as a theatre of operations but largely as a training ground and Indonesia, which has the world largest Muslim population became the theatre of operations. We’re seeing the same thing being to take shape now."
According to Mr Mendoza, the main issue holding the extremist groups back from becoming official members and launching an IS caliphate in Southeast Asia is their disunity.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/in-philippines-reports-of/2514294.html
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