The military has identified Norman Lasuca, a Filipino in his early 20s and a supposed member of the Abu Sayyaf group, as one of two suspected suicide bombers. (FILE PHOTO)
The Philippines and U.S. have agreed to strengthen security cooperation after the suicide bombing at a military camp in Sulu last June, which the Armed Forces believes was the first suicide attack carried out by a Filipino.
Officials from the two countries discussed the incident during the recently concluded Bilateral Strategic Dialogue in Manila. The two-day dialogue involved senior government officials talking about cooperation in the areas of defense, economics, rule of law, and diplomacy.
"The working groups were able to discuss how we can cooperate even more now especially with what happened in the recent bombing," Philippine Ambassador to the U.S. Jose Manuel “Babe” Romualdez said Tuesday in a joint media briefing with his counterpart, U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim.
"Both the U.S. and the Philippines are quite concerned about extremist activities in the Philippines," Kim said, adding that both countries are looking for ways to increase anti-terrorism efforts.
Violent extremism is considered among the shared concerns in the Philippines-U.S. alliance, Romualdez said, including addressing the presence of foreign fighters, countering transnational crimes, defense modernization, and humanitarian assistance and disaster response. He said the two countries will continue to cooperate "especially in the intelligence sharing aspect."
Authorities said there are a number of foreign terrorists being harbored by the Sulu faction of the Abu Sayyaf group led by Hatib Hajan Sawadjaan, the supposed acting leader of international terrorist network ISIS in the Philippines. Some of them are in the country to encourage locals to conduct suicide attacks, something Filipino terrorists do not usually do.
President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered security forces "to enhance the technology in surveillance and intelligence work" after the June 28 twin blasts at a military camp in Indanan, Sulu. The military has identified Norman Lasuca, a Filipino in his early 20s and a supposed member of the Abu Sayyaf group, as one of two suspected suicide bombers. The attack killed three soldiers and three civilians, while two bodies of the alleged suicide bombers were found.
Mindanao has been under martial law since May 23, 2017, the day local and international terrorists attacked Marawi City, sparking a five-month war with government forces. Military rule stays until yearend as Duterte argued it is needed to secure the island region against terrorists and rebels.
Officials from the two countries discussed the incident during the recently concluded Bilateral Strategic Dialogue in Manila. The two-day dialogue involved senior government officials talking about cooperation in the areas of defense, economics, rule of law, and diplomacy.
"The working groups were able to discuss how we can cooperate even more now especially with what happened in the recent bombing," Philippine Ambassador to the U.S. Jose Manuel “Babe” Romualdez said Tuesday in a joint media briefing with his counterpart, U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim.
"Both the U.S. and the Philippines are quite concerned about extremist activities in the Philippines," Kim said, adding that both countries are looking for ways to increase anti-terrorism efforts.
Violent extremism is considered among the shared concerns in the Philippines-U.S. alliance, Romualdez said, including addressing the presence of foreign fighters, countering transnational crimes, defense modernization, and humanitarian assistance and disaster response. He said the two countries will continue to cooperate "especially in the intelligence sharing aspect."
Authorities said there are a number of foreign terrorists being harbored by the Sulu faction of the Abu Sayyaf group led by Hatib Hajan Sawadjaan, the supposed acting leader of international terrorist network ISIS in the Philippines. Some of them are in the country to encourage locals to conduct suicide attacks, something Filipino terrorists do not usually do.
President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered security forces "to enhance the technology in surveillance and intelligence work" after the June 28 twin blasts at a military camp in Indanan, Sulu. The military has identified Norman Lasuca, a Filipino in his early 20s and a supposed member of the Abu Sayyaf group, as one of two suspected suicide bombers. The attack killed three soldiers and three civilians, while two bodies of the alleged suicide bombers were found.
Mindanao has been under martial law since May 23, 2017, the day local and international terrorists attacked Marawi City, sparking a five-month war with government forces. Military rule stays until yearend as Duterte argued it is needed to secure the island region against terrorists and rebels.
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