There are about 1,200 Islamic State (IS) fighters in the Philippines, according to a defense official of Indonesia.
The figure, which was gathered by Indonesia’s military intelligence agency, is three times more than the estimate of an official of the Philippine military.
About 40 of these “killing machines” are from Indonesia, said Indonesian Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu at an international security forum in Singapore on Sunday.
“This information I will inform to our counterparts in the ASEAN region,” a Rappler report quoted Ryacudu as saying at the Shangri-La Dialogue Security Summit.
Philippine Defense Undersecretary Ricardo David, who was also at the summit, said the figure for total IS fighters in the Philippines was new to him.
“I really don’t know, my figure is about 250 to 400, a lot less,” the Inquirer quoted David as saying.
David spoke at the same Singapore forum, which was also graced by US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.
Lieutenant General Agus Widjojo, governor of Indonesia’s National Resilience Institute, said ongoing disputes in Mindanao and the island’s proximity lured Indonesian terrorists to the Philippines.
In 2016, the IS circulated a 20-minute video that called on its followers to fight for the terror group either in Syria or in the Philippines.
Photo Credits: Daily Mail
