“They (terrorists) are looking at different parts of the world, and unfortunately I think Southeast Asia is in their radar. They are looking very clearly about how to establish safe havens across maybe the Southern Philippines and other parts of Southeast Asia,” Saeed told members of the media in Southeast Asia in a teleconference Wednesday night. “We have to recognize the great work that has been done by our partners across Southeast Asia to limit those foreign fighters going from Southeast Asia to Syria and Iraq,” he added. Apart from preventing terrorist attacks, countries should give more focus on efforts to counter violent extremism (CVE) or to prevent someone from becoming a terrorist, Saeed said. “So we cannot lose sight of all the other terrorist groups out there that are trying to fill that void,” he added.

Source: Manila Times April 12, 2018 16:18 UTC