ISIS in Southeast Asia: Philippines battles growing threat
Source: CNN
Philippines: The next ISIS stronghold?
By James Griffiths, CNN
Updated 6:01 AM ET, Mon May 29, 2017
(CNN)The black flag of ISIS has been raised in the Philippines.
At least 103 people have died in the city of Marawi on the southern island of Mindanao in less than a week as fighters affiliated with the so-called Islamic State engaged in violent clashes with government forces, and martial law was declared over the entire island.
Local resident Chico Usman said the militants had entered the predominantly Muslim city of some 200,000 suddenly, on the afternoon of May 24, wearing masks and carrying assault rifles. "Everybody was shocked and ran into their houses," he said, adding they could hear gunfire and fighting until the following morning.
An ISIS fighter erects the flag of the so-called Islamic State atop a school near a mosque in Marawi, southern Philippines on May 24, 2017.
Black ISIS flags emblazoned in white with the words "There is no god but God" were flying from "every corner in the city," said Usman, who spoke to CNN from near Saguiaran, a town outside Marawi, where thousands of fleeing residents had taken temporary shelter.
Photos showed long queues of cars piled with people and belongings, as tanks and armored troop vehicles headed in the opposite direction. ...........................................
Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/28/asia/isis-threat-southeast-asia/?iid=ob_article_organicsidebar_expansion
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