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Agence France Presse — Singapore said Wednesday it has offered surveillance drones and urban warfare training to Philippine troops battling Islamist fighters, to prevent the militants becoming entrenched and threatening the rest of Southeast Asia. Philippine troops have been battling to dislodge militants loyal to the Islamic State group who seized parts of the southern city of Marawi on May 23 in a bid to establish a base in the Mindanao region, which shares sea […]
by Rouba El-Husseini Agence France-Presse RAQA, Syria – Heavy bombardment and fierce fighting shook the Islamic State group’s Syrian stronghold Raqa on Monday, as United States-backed forces said they captured a new neighborhood from entrenched jihadists. Bursts of gunfire and artillery as well as the thud of air strikes conducted by the US-led coalition filled the air in western neighborhoods of Raqa, on what AFP’s correspondent said was the heaviest day of bombardment to date. […]
by Tony Gamal-Gabriel with W.G. Dunlop in Baghdad Agence France-Presse MOSUL, Iraq – Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared victory over “brutality and terrorism” in Mosul on Monday, announcing his forces had ended the Islamic State group’s rule over the country’s second city. Standing with members of the security forces, Abadi hailed the retaking of Mosul — where Islamic State dealt Iraqi troops a devastating defeat three years ago — as a key moment in […]
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) – The European Union on Sunday hailed the defeat of the Islamic State group in Mosul as a “decisive step” in fighting terrorism but called on Iraqis to work together to improve their country. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi earlier announced that pro-government forces had retaken the second city from IS after a months-long battle that killed thousands of civilians and forced nearly a million people from their homes. “The recovery […]
(Eagle News) — Three suspected supporters of the Maute group were arrested by authorities in a raid in Cagayan de Oro on Wednesday. Members of the Martial Law Special Action Group apprehended Monaliza Solaiman Romato, Gazim Mantawazi Abdullah, and Tahera Romato Taher in a raid in a house in Aluba in Barangay Macasandig. The authorities were armed with a search warrant when they raided the house owned by Irene Romato Idris, believed to be a financier […]
Islamist gunmen are holed up in about 1,500 buildings in Marawi after weeks of ferocious fighting that has left people dead, officials said Monday. President Rodrigo Duterte last month vowed to “crush” the militants who rampaged through the city on May 23, with the military saying they were hoping to end the fight soon. The gunmen are led by Isnilon Hapilon, one of the world’s most wanted men, who is believed to be still alive […]
Says war in Marawi will not stop until last terrorist is “taken out” (Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte on Saturday reiterated the government’s no-negotiation policy with terrorists, noting that the war in Marawi will continue until the last one was “taken out.” “I will never ever talk to the terrorists. There will never be forgiving them,” Duterte said in a speech during ceremonies commemorating the 50th founding anniversary of Davao del Sur in Digos. […]
China on Wednesday donated thousands of guns to the Philippines to help Manila in its battle against Islamist gunmen who are holed up in Marawi. The shipment of assault and sniper rifles and ammunition is the first example of Chinese military aid since President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to move away from Manila’s traditional ally America and seek Beijing’s support. It came after China donated P15 million for the rehabilitation of the war-stricken city in Mindanao. […]
(Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte said he was set to visit Marawi to check the situation there. “I cannot just sit on my a** sa opisina ko. Hirap ang tao doon,” Duterte said in groundbreaking rites of the Presidential Security Group Hospital in Malacanang Park. In his speech, the President said he “really wallow(s) in sorrow” as he was the one who gave the orders for government troops to go to Marawi and fight […]
MADRID, Spain (AFP) — Six suspected members of the Islamic State group were arrested in Spain, Britain and Germany on Wednesday in an operation led by Spanish authorities investigating a jihadist recruiting network, the Spanish interior ministry said. Raids were continuing Wednesday morning targeting the group, based on the island of Majorca and led by an Islamist imam, who was arrested in Britain, the ministry said in a statement. The imam, 44, was the target […]
“We will live in peace and guarantee peace for the next generation,” he says (Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday promised the people in Marawi their city would be “prosperous” again, saying he would do everything within his power to enable its rehabilitation and reconstruction. “One thing I will promise you, my brother Moro, I will see to it that Marawi will rise as a prosperous city again. Maghanap ako ng pera. (Sabi ko kay […]
MANILA/MARAWI CITY, Philippines (Reuters) — Before they formed one of the most dreaded militant groups in the Philippines and pledged loyalty to Islamic State, the Mautes were a wealthy, political family in the southern region of Mindanao, largely influenced by the matriarch, Farhana. Soft-spoken and reserved, 60-year-old Farhana Maute owns property in Mindanao and in Manila, and runs a construction business, say people who know the family and security analysts who have scrutinized its […]
