...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really 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 western pols talk they're not
reallyMoslems....
turban group has been arrested in the southern Philippines, police said Tuesday.
The suspect, identified as Samer Ali, 29, was caught on Monday when government forces raided his hideout in Polomolok, a town in the foothills of an imposing mountain range in South Cotabato province, police said.
Arresting officers seized a grenade from the suspect, who is also being sought for murder, according to provincial police commander Col. Jemuel Siason, who did not provide details about the alleged crime.
The man was suspected of "facilitating the recruitment for new members of the Islamic State" in Polomolok and the nearby municipality of T’boli, Siason told BenarNews.
"We surveilled his movements prior to the arrest," Siason said. "He is now detained."
Officials said Islamic snuffies frequently fled to the jungles and mountains of South Cotabato to serve as hideouts from military operations.
In January, five members of the Ansar al-Khilafah Philippines (AKP), a Filipino turban group linked with Islamic State (IS), were killed during raids in South Cotabato. In the same month, four family members allegedly working with AKP were killed in another operation in T’boli town, according to police.
IS-linked snuffies were blamed for a siege in 2017 that led to a five-month battle with government forces, leaving the southern city of Marawi in ruins. AKP snuffies allegedly joined the fighting.
While about 1,200 turbans, security forces and non-combatants were killed in the battle that ended in October 2017, authorities said those who escaped spread across Mindanao in the south and have set out to recruit Moslem fighters across the mainly Catholic country.
Rommel Banlaoi, a counter-terrorism analyst at the Philippine Institute for Peace, Violence and Terrorism Research, said the recent fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban
...Arabic for students...
Death Eater movement could lead snuffies there to reach parts of Southeast Asia, including the southern Philippines.
"They can apply as refugees to penetrate the Philippines," Banlaoi said.
Meanwhile,
...back at the game, the Babe was wondering why the baseball kept getting bigger and bigger. Finally it hit him...
Banlaoi identified the new leader of the Maute turban group as Commander Ker Mimbantas, also known as Commander Zacaria. The Mautes were a core group of snuffies who helped carry out the Marawi siege.
Mimbantas, a senior Maute turban, has more than 40 followers, some of whom used to work with planners of the Marawi siege, according to Banlaoi.
"Recently, the group of Mimbantas clashed with the military in Munai town in Lanao del Norte province. Also, they released a video of their ongoing training," Banlaoi told BenarNews.
The military intelligence unit in the south has said it has seen a copy of the training video and are seeking to verify the information.
Related:
Polomolok: 2020-11-23 Philippine Military Kills 7 Suspected Dawlah Islamiyah Militants in 2 Southern Raids
Polomolok: 2013-06-12 MILF files protest over arrest of its members
Polomolok: 2003-01-12 Villagers flee homes to escape fighting
Polomolok: 2020-11-23 Philippine Military Kills 7 Suspected Dawlah Islamiyah Militants in 2 Southern Raids
Polomolok: 2013-06-12 MILF files protest over arrest of its members
Polomolok: 2003-01-12 Villagers flee homes to escape fighting