[Reuters] Despite heavy air and artillery assaults on identified terrorist positions, it is likely that leaders of the ISIS-inspired Maute and Abu Sayyaf groups are still alive, said Philippine military officials. General Restituto Padilla said, "We have received reports that terror leaders Isnilon Hapilon, Abdullah Maute and Omar Maute are still alive and they are still in Marawi City."
The Philippine government offered a $200,000 reward to anyone who could provide information leading to the arrest of Hapilon. Moreover, a reward of $100,000 is offered to anyone who can provide information about the current location of either Abdullah and Omar Maute.
Thousands of Philippine soldiers were deployed in Marawi City to battle heavily armed 700 Maute and Abu Sayyaf militants on May 23 and the battle has been going on since then. The military said that after fierce fighting for over three months only a hundred of them, occupying two villages, remain.
Meanwhile, last Sunday, six bombs exploded in Marantao, a municipality adjacent to Marawi City following which a investigation was ordered. The blast came as a shock because it happened outside of the battle zone.
One army unit claimed that the bombs were either planted or were fired from the terrorist camp. However, according to General Padilla, the incident is still being investigated.
With the Marawi battle entering its 78th day, it is reported that 690 terrorists and 122 security personnel have been killed.
Continued on Page 47
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08/08/2017 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Islamic State
The Pentagon is considering a plan that allows the U.S. military to conduct airstrikes on ISIS in the Philippines, two defense officials told NBC News.
The authority to strike ISIS targets as part of collective self-defense could be granted as part of an official military operation that may be named as early as Tuesday, said the officials. The strikes would likely be conducted by armed drones.
If approved, the U.S. military would be able to conduct strikes against ISIS targets in the Philippines that could be a threat to allies in the region, which would include the Philippine forces battling ISIS on the ground in the country's southern islands.
[AlAhram] Malaysia is investigating an international atheist organization, a minister said on Monday, after a picture of the group's local chapter went viral, sparking claims that Moslem apostates were involved.
Apostasy is not a federal crime in Malaysia, a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country. But critics say deepening fundamentalism within the Moslem majority is threatening religious freedoms.
Malaysian states, which have their own laws governing Islamic affairs, do not allow Moslems to formally renounce Islam, preferring instead to send them for counselling, or fining or jailing them.
The Kuala Lumpur chapter of Atheist Republic, a Canada-based organization, posted a picture of the group's members attending a gathering last week, sparking uproar among some Moslems and leading to threats of death and violence against the group on social media.
Malaysia's deputy minister in charge of religious affairs, Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki, said on Monday he had instructed the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Department to investigate the Atheist Republic chapter to see if any Moslems were involved.
"We need to determine whether any Moslems attended the gathering, and whether they are involved in spreading such views, which can jeopardise the aqidah (faith) of Moslems," he told Rooters when contacted.
Ex-Moslems in the group would be sent for counselling, while attempts to spread atheist ideas could be prosecuted under existing laws, Asyraf said.
"We need to use the soft approach with (apostates). Perhaps they are ignorant of the true Islam, so we need to engage them and educate them on the right teachings," he said.
Atheist Republic's founder, Armin Navabi, said the group's gatherings caused no harm to the public and were not considered a threat in other countries.
"They (Atheists) are treated like criminals. They are just hanging out and meeting other atheists. Who are they harming?!" he said in a post on his Facebook account.
Malaysia's apostasy laws have left many former Moslems in legal limbo, as they are not allowed to register their new religious affiliations or legally marry non-Moslems.
In 2007, Lina Joy, a Malaysian convert to Christianity, lost a high-profile legal battle to have the word "Islam" removed from her identity card. In delivering judgment in that case, the Federal Court's chief justice said the issue was related to Islamic law, and civil courts could not intervene.
Continued on Page 47
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Reuters] Despite heavy air and artillery assaults on identified terrorist positions, it is likely that leaders of the ISIS-inspired Maute and Abu Sayyaf groups are still alive, said Philippine military officials. General Restituto Padilla said, "We have received reports that terror leaders Isnilon Hapilon, Abdullah Maute and Omar Maute are still alive and they are still in Marawi City."
