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Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines to Conduct Air Patrols
[AnNahar] Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines will begin coordinated air patrols off the strife-torn southern Philippines next month to combat the growing threat posed by Islamist hard boys, an official said Friday.The neighbors had already launched joint sea patrols four months ago in the same area, the Sulu Sea. Fears have been growing that the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not reallyMoslems.... (IS) group is trying to establish a Southeast Asian outpost in the southern Philippines after button men waving the jihadists' black flag occupied the Moslem city of Marawi in May. They have fought off a U.S.-backed military assault for almost five months and the conflict has left hundreds dead. There have also been a spate of kidnappings in the Sulu Sea by the Abu Sayyaf ...also known as al-Harakat al-Islamiyya, an Islamist terror group based in Jolo, Basilan and Zamboanga. Since its inception in the early 1990s, the group has carried out bombings, kidnappings, murders, head choppings, and extortion in their uniquely Islamic attempt to set up an independent Moslem province in the Philippines. Abu Sayyaf forces probably number less than 300 cadres. The group is closely allied with remnants of Indonesia's Jemaah Islamiya and has loose ties with MILF and MNLF who sometimes provide cannon fodder... , a Philippine Islamist hard boy group. A ceremony to announce the patrols was held Thursday at Subang air force base outside Kuala Lumpur and was attended by defense ministers from the three countries. A Malaysian defense ministry spokeswoman said the patrols were aimed at combating the threat from "ISIS (IS), piracy and sea robberies." The countries will take turns to lead the patrols, with Malaysia starting in November, followed by the Philippines in December and Indonesia in January. In a speech at the ceremony, Malaysian Defense Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said that some $40 billion in trade passed through the Sulu Sea every year and no single country could police the waters alone. Posted by: trailing wife 2017-10-14 |
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