By Jaime Laude
MANILA, Philippines - The return to the country of local lslamic militants from the Middle East who intend to continue with their terroristic activities is expected, security officials said yesterday.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the country’s security forces, in close coordination with counterparts in the Asia-Pacific region, are closely monitoring the activities of suspected terrorists coming from the Middle East to thwart any of their terror plans.
“Since these threats are cross border in nature, we are closely working with our counterparts in the Asia-Pacific region to monitor and address these threats,” Lorenzana said.
Lorenzana gave the assurance following the warning of Admiral Harry Harris, commander of the United States Pacific Command (USPACOM), that jihadists fighting alongside Islamic State (IS) extremists are now heading home to their respective countries as they are steadily losing ground in Iraq and Syria.
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