MANILA, Philippines — At least four local terrorist groups in the country are affiliated with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) even before the 2017 siege of Marawi City, the Philippine Army (PA) said on Wednesday. ADVERTISEMENT“Before the Marawi crisis, we have monitored four to five local terrorist groups. These are local terror groups that have sworn allegiance and followed ISIS-inspired [ideologies],” Gapay said in an interview with ABS-CBN News Channel. Currently, local terrorist groups are recruiting the youth through religious education and radicalization in schools, particularly in Muslim areas, according to the Army chief. We really want their support on this so that terrorism would really be addressed comprehensively and will be defeated,” he said.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer June 10, 2020 01:34 UTC