IS ideology has reached Philippines, says Duterte

The brutal and violent ideology of the Islamic State militant group has reached the Philippines, President Rodrigo Duterte said on Monday.

"The IS ideology is here to stay," Xinhua news agency quoted Duterte as saying.

He said terrorist groups are using illegal drugs to fund their organisations on Mindanao island in southern Philippines.

Philippine national police chief Ronald dela Rosa told the media on Monday that security forces were monitoring the possible presence of five to 10 foreign terrorists in the country.

He said the authorities have received information that foreign terrorists were training in the Philippines before their deployment in Syria.

Dela Rosa said a foreign man and his wife were killed in a police operation in Mindanao on Saturday.

Abu Naila, the slain suspect, was a Sudanese national and member of jihadist group Ansar Al-Khilafa.

Duterte confirmed on November 28 last that IS militants have connected with a Philippine Islamic group called Maute.

The armed forces of the Philippines blamed Maute for a series of bombings and robberies in the southern part of the country, including a blast in Davao city last year in which 15 people were killed and 70 others injured.

--IANS

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