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| IS Flag on the town hall in Butig |
MANILA, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte confirmed on Monday that the Islamic State (IS) militants have indeed "connected" with a Philippine Islamic group based in the southern Philippines.
In a speech at the Malacanang presidential palace, Duterte said "the intelligence community advised me that ISIS has finally connected with the group in the Philippines called the Maute."
"There's a raging war now in Lanao (del Sur)," he added, referring to the ongoing military offensive against the Maute group that held Butig town in Lanao del Sur last Friday.
The military launched the offensive Saturday when members of the Maute group occupied the town hall, the public market and the school buildings in an apparent bid to gain control of the town.
Duterte has recently been warning about IS taking root in the Philippines.
Read the full story at Xinhua