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| An ISIS flag flying over Butig old municipal building in the Philippines |
The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is creating a fully pledged wilayat or province as their base in Mindanao, the Indonesian Military (TNI) commander General Gatot Nurmantyo has warned on Tuesday.
ISIS is currently falling back in Iraq and Syria against internationally backed anti-IS forces, Gatot said.
He said that the number of abductions carried out by terrorist groups from commercial vessels passing through southern Philippines’ waters indicated that ISIS militants in the area are raising money to build the base.
In the sidelines of a seminar on terrorism in Central Jakarta, he said “I have raised concerns about this issue for six months. IS can enter Indonesia from there (the southern Philippines).”
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