Military: No IS presence in Phl

MANILA, Philippines - The military yesterday maintained there is no direct link between Islamic State (IS) militants and homegrown extremists in the country.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla said there are no verified reports that local terrorist groups are getting support from the IS.

“Based on information at hand, there’s no presence of Daesh in the Philippines. It has not been established. There’s no direct relation between the group here and the bigger terror group Daesh out there (Middle East),” Padilla said, referring to the other name of the IS.

Padilla made the statement following reports that gunmen fighting in the name of IS are escalating attacks in Mindanao.

Rodolfo Mendoza, a senior analyst of the Philippine Institute for Peace, Violence and Terrorism Research, said the various local groups that had pledged allegiance to IS were “planning big operations, like bombings, attacks or assassinations.”

The Maute group, a previously obscure group discounted by the military as a small-time extortion gang, launched an assault on a remote army outpost in Mindanao.

The attack triggered a week of fighting that the military said left six soldiers and at least 12 militants dead, and forced more than 30,000 people to flee their homes.

The gunmen flew IS flags during the fighting, and bandanas with the group’s insignia were found when soldiers overran their base, a two-story concrete building, according to the military.

At the same time about 100 kilometers away, soldiers were battling the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), a bigger and much better known group that had previously declared allegiance to IS.

But Padilla dismissed the Maute group, saying they are known to align themselves to whoever is popular.

He said the Maute was formerly identified with the now defeated regional terror group Jemaah Islamiyah.

“Our analysis remains the same. They are just trying to keep their group known by identifying themselves with the Daesh,” Padilla said.

In any event, the military is on top of the country’s security situation, Padilla said.

He said the AFP has been continuously monitoring the changes in the country’s threat board.

Padilla said the government security sector has contingencies in place in order to address all these concerns in an event the threats are verified as true.

“Working on a worst-case scenario, we have the preparations attuned with this kind of security situation. That’s what we can assure the public,” Padilla said.

He cited the military action against the Maute group following the attack on a remote Army outpost.

The quick military and police action was done if only to show the will and determination of the government to address any unfolding security threats around the country, he said.

“We are not ringing alarm bells here. We are telling people to go with your normal lives, to live normally, to continue with commerce, economic life but with the caveat that you must continue staying alert, staying vigilant, because this is a very important participation of the community that we have been pushing all along,” Padilla said.

Officials regularly said fears of growing IS influence on local terror groups are misplaced.

They said the militants like the Maute group are just criminals interested in money, and not radical Islamist jihadists.