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Turkish Media Reveals Location of US Bases in Syria

The Anadolu Agency, Turkey’s state run news agency leaked information on the location of US bases which drew the ire of the Pentagon. The agency published a list of ten locations including two airfields and eight military bases.

The agency stated that the locations were “usually hidden for security reasons,” but then listed them anyway. The report went further also stating the number of US and French Special Operations Forces stationed at a post in Ayn Issah.

The locations are all in an area controlled by Syrian Kurdish forces known as the Kurdish Democratic Party (PYD) and the People’s Protection Units (YPG). The U.S. supports the groups as they help combat the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), but Turkey considers YPG as terrorists.

Pentagon spokesman Maj. Adrian Rankine-Galloway told The Hill that the Defense Department doesn’t disclose the locations where U.S.-led coalition forces are in Syria are “for operational security reasons.”

“The release of sensitive military information exposes Coalition forces to unnecessary risk and has the potential to disrupt ongoing operations to defeat ISIS,” Rankine-Galloway said.

He added that Pentagon officials have expressed their concerns to the Turkish government.

“While we cannot independently verify the sources that contributed to this story, we would be very concerned if officials from a NATO ally would purposefully endanger our forces by releasing sensitive information, Rankine-Galloway said.

While Turkey is and has been a trusted ally since the Korean War, the civil war in Syria has developed a rift between Washington and Ankara. While both are actively supporting the fight against ISIS and the Islamic State, the US has funded Kurdish rebels, whom the Turks consider terrorists.

To compound matters Turkey has stated that weapons that the US has supplied to the Kurds in Syria have made their way into Turkey and into the hands of the PKK or the Kurdish Workers Party. Turkey, however, didn’t supply any evidence to back up this claim, which the US denies.

To read the entire article from The Hill click here:

Photo courtesy DOD

Iranian and Hezbollah Influence Growing in Latin America

It is no secret the Iranians are trying to export their own brand of influence across the Middle East. They are supporting the Assad regime in Syria during the bloody civil war there are trying to establish bases near the border with Israel. Tehran and their proxy terrorist group Hezbollah are preparing for their next foray against the Israelis and they’ve been rattling their sabers openly about it.

In a report on SOFREP from Travis Allen on July 14, Hezbollah launched 4000 rockets into Israel in the 2006 war. Now after being bled dry in the Syrian civil war, they’re ready for the next battle. The Iranians have built underground bunkers for Hezbollah rocket factories and they’re threatening one of the US’ staunchest allies in the region. But this isn’t the only place the Iranians are peddling their influence. And it is much closer to the US border in Latin America.

Since the 1980s the Iranians have been steadily building their presence in Latin America from just a handful to 12 diplomatic missions in the region. In 1992 at the Israeli Embassy and again in 1994 at the Jewish Community Centers (AMIA) in Buenos Aires, clear evidence linked Iran and Hezbollah to the bombings of those facilities, yet they were allowed to grow with impunity. The bombing in Buenos Aires killed 89 and wounded 300 in what was the worst terrorist attack in Argentine history.

In testimony only months after the attacks, the State Department’s coordinator for counterterrorism expressed concern that Iranian embassies in the region were flooding their missions with far too many “diplomats”, and it is believed that many of whom were believed to be intelligence agents and/or terrorist operatives.

In 2015 chief prosecutor Alberto Nissman who investigated the AMIA bombing died under suspicious circumstances. Nisman, the special prosecutor who had been investigating the AMIA bombing for over a decade, filed a complaint against then Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and some officials in her administration for covering up Iran’s involvement in the attack.

Four days later, Nisman was found with a bullet in his head. His testimony before the Argentine Congress about the alleged cover-up had been scheduled for the following day.

In a 2016 interview, Treasury Department and Hezbollah expert Matthew Levitt who also the Director of the Washington Institute of Counter-Terrorism and Intelligence stated that:

FBI, CIA, Interpol, and other documents about terrorist activity in Brazil, which warned that Mohsen Rabbani, an Iranian intelligence agent who worked closely with Hezbollah to carry out the 1992 Israeli Embassy and 1994 bombings in Buenos Aires, “frequently slips in and out of Brazil on a false passport and has recruited at least 24 youngsters in three Brazilian states to attend ‘religious formation’ classes in Tehran.” In the words of one Brazilian official quoted by the magazine, “Without anybody noticing, a generation of Islamic extremists is appearing in Brazil.” Hezbollah reportedly has expanded its criminal activities in Brazil as well to include shipping fraud, involving containers that enter Brazil at the port of Sao Paulo and disappear on their way up the river to the Tri-Border Area.

The Tri-Border Area is the lawless area of Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina where drug trafficking and counterfeiting run rampant. The Hezbollah operatives are blending into the numerous Shia and Lebanese communities in the area.

Hezbollah thru the Iranians are heavily involved in the drug business and a 2011 DEA report stated that a ring that was broken up had laundered over $200 million thru the Lebanese Canadian Bank where monies were used to fund the Islamic Jihad Organization, which is Hezbollah’s terrorist wing.

However, since the bombings in Argentina, the Iranians and Hezbollah are keeping a low profile in Latin America, especially in the Tri-Border Region. Iran claims it is only trying to grow its trade with the region while leftist governments of Ecuador, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Bolivia have vigorously welcomed Iran’s new influence in Latin America. Many of these countries are hostile to continuing US influence and have welcomed the Iranians in an attempt to thumb their nose at Washington. Especially in Venezuela prior to Chavez’s death and Bolivia.

The Spanish Language television station “HispanTV” has since 2012 carried the news from Tehran and its Islamist message to millions of viewers across the region. While conversion rates to Islam continue to be small, there is the concern that the message to entice some youth over to more radicalized views will ultimately occur.

Iran’s presence in Latin America developed over the course of four sequential stages:
Cultural – building of schools, mosques and “Cultural Centers”
Diplomatic – established diplomatic posts as a cover, solidified presence in the region
Economic – Illicit trade (drug smuggling, money laundering) to circumvent UN sanctions
Military –  Money was used to help missile building programs and fund terrorism

And while Iran’s foreign minister Javad Zarif went on a six-nation tour and openly denigrated America, he espoused his beliefs that the US would go out of its way to encourage other nations to do business with Iran. He was correct. Then Secretary of State John Kerry visited Europe to encourage banks and companies to again do business with Iran. Outwardly under the Obama administration, the attempt was to downplay the growing Iranian presence in the region.

The new regime in Washington under President Trump will have to navigate the waters carefully. He was vehemently opposed to the Iran nuclear deal and his government could open the door for new sanctions against Tehran. The Colombian peace accord with FARC was a blow to Tehran as the leftist terror group was openly allied with Hezbollah. This peace pact besides disarming the rebel group may prevent further infiltration of Iranian influence in the area.

Trump’s inaugural address promised to eradicate radical Islamic terrorism “from the face of the earth.”

Perhaps a good place to start is close to home where Hezbollah has operated networks that have bought political influence among local powers, allied with organized crime, and has had financial dealings with both. The US has long advocated that Iran is a state sponsor of terrorism, and their proxies Hezbollah have certainly lived up to that distinction in the Middle East. Placing harsh financial sanctions on the banks and countries complicit in Hezbollah’s dealings is the only way to counter their efforts in the region.

Otherwise, the specter of more terrorism, this time closer to, if not in the United States is a distinct possibility.

Photo: Hezbollah

US Treasury Department Levies More Sanctions on Iran

The U.S. Treasury Department levied fresh sanctions against Iran despite a statement from President Trump that Tehran’s government was acting in compliance with the Nuclear deal they signed with the Obama Administration in 2015. These newest sanctions are directly related to Iran’s ballistic-missile program.

The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated 16 entities and individuals for what it said was “engaging in support of illicit Iranian actors or transnational criminal activity.”

The sanctions target seven entities and five individuals for supporting Iran’s military or the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC); also targeted: an Iran-based transnational criminal organization and three associated persons. Those targeted include a Chinese national, four Chinese companies, and a Turkish firm. Iran’s testing and development of ballistic missiles, the U.S. State Department said in a separate statement, is “in direct defiance of UN Security Council Resolution 2231,” which endorsed the nuclear agreement.

The State Departments’ statement included: The three networks designated today supported Iran’s military procurement or the IRGC through the development of unmanned aerial vehicles and military equipment for the IRGC, the production and maintenance of fast attack boats for the IRGC-Navy, or the procurement of electronic components for entities that support Iran’s military. 

The transnational criminal organization designated today, along with two Iranian businessmen and an associated entity, orchestrated the theft of U.S. and western software programs which, at times, were sold to the Government of Iran.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the actions “send a strong signal that the United States cannot and will not tolerate Iran’s provocative and destabilizing behavior.”

The move comes a day after Trump certified that Iran was complying with the nuclear agreement it signed with the U.S. and other world powers. Trump, as a presidential candidate, had called the deal “the worst” ever and had vowed to walk away from it. Under the law, the administration must inform Congress every 90 days whether Iran is still complying with the agreement, under which it agreed to freeze its nuclear program in return for the lifting of some international sanctions. This is the second time the Trump administration has certified that Iran is in compliance.

The message from the Trump administration seems to be that Iran is on notice, that even if they comply with the terms of the nuclear deal, that the US will not look the other way in other activities that the Iranians are conducting.

To read the entire article from The Atlantic click here:

Photo courtesy The White House

Syria Ceasefire Iran – Israel War “Inevitable” Former Netanyahu Adviser

Former Netanyahu security adviser Yaakov Amidror feels that the Syrian cease fire will result in an “inevitable war” between Israel and Iran. On a conference call with the media, he painted a gloomy picture which echoed what Netanyahu said earlier.

The Israeli leader doesn’t trust the Russians as they’ve supported embattled President Assad who is allied with Iran, and Israel’s hated enemy Hezbollah.

Iran is trying to build “an air base in Syria” and provide additional weaponry to terrorists in Lebanon in an apparent effort to threaten Israel from two directions, according to the Netanyahu ally. This fear has been brewing in U.S. and Israeli circles for years, but the Israelis think the terms of a nascent Syria ceasefire negotiated by the Trump administration, Russia and Jordan exacerbates the danger.

“Israel should take care for its strategic goal and this is to prevent the Iranians and Hezbollah from building launching pads in Syria,” Yaakov Amidror, who counseled Netanyahu from 2011 to 2013, told reporters on a conference call hosted by The Israel Project. “If [the Iranians] begin to build infrastructure which might be used against Israel in Syria and will connect this land corridor into Iraq and begin to move materials from this area into Syria, that will make the war inevitable.”

U.S. officials in both parties have raised the same concerns. “A permanent Iranian military base in Syria, potentially near the border with Israel or Jordan, would increase Iran’s operational capacity to inflict serious damage against two of our closest allies in the region,” Rep. Peter Roskam, R-Ill., and Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Fla., wrote in a May letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

Netanyahu lobbied throughout the talks for Russia and the United States to keep Iran away from Israel’s border and said Russian forces ought not to be trusted to police the southern Syria safe zone. But Israeli officials say their position was ignored in the final agreement.

“The agreement as it is now is very bad,” an official told Haaretz. “It doesn’t take almost any of Israel’s security interests and it creates a disturbing reality in southern Syria. The agreement doesn’t include a single explicit word about Iran, Hezbollah or the Shi’ite militias in Syria.”

Russia and Iran have fought to protect Syrian President Bashar Assad for years, particularly after then-President Barack Obama declined to attack the Syrian regime in 2013 in response to Assad’s use of chemical weapons. Tillerson’s ceasefire negotiations may have been influenced by the Trump administration’s overall determination to limit U.S. military deployments to Syria.

With the Islamic State’s defeat in Syria, the civil war against Assad will continue. And many in the US and Israeli governments feel the only ones who will benefit from this cease fire is the Iranians.

Then the only questions remain whether Israel will stand by and let Iran build an airbase on their border. And what the results will be if they decide to take action.

To read the entire article from The Washington Examiner, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

The Latest Cyber War Developments Have a New, Worrisome Twist

United States national security officials looking into Russian cyber-meddling of the recent elections are seeing that the recent “ransomware” cyber-attacks are part of an increasing problem. Hackers are now not just in the business of ransom but in chaos and disruption of the internet.

The goals are to disrupt signaling capabilities, disruption of normal systems and demonstrate the instability of the Western democracies. And some say it IS time to worry.

A number of analysts described the Petya/NotPetya incident of June and the WannaCry event in May as ransom attacks, aimed at gaining as much bitcoin as possible. But our analysis of cyber-coercion highlights how ransomware events such as the Petya are often strategically motivated and less about gaining funds than they are about sending a signal. The primary goal instead appears to be limited destruction through malware wiping systems.

North Korea and Russia are the likely originators of these attacks. What’s the motivation, beyond simply the chaos factor? For Russia, the Petya attack could be a means of encouraging the perception of Ukraine as a failed state — a view that aligns with Russian interests.

Cyber-operations amplify larger psychological warfare efforts. North Korea’s goal, most likely, could be to cause general chaos in Western systems, as a means of signaling strength — and its capacity to escalate in any future crisis.

In addition to propaganda, states use cyber-operations to influence elections and conduct disruption operations. Russian interference in the elections of Western states has become so common it is now expected. But instead of just disrupting elections, Russia now seems to be leveraging cyberespionage and propaganda to generate larger crises.

Russia now appears to be using Ukraine as more than a testing ground for cyberwar — it is demonstrating its ability to disrupt faith in public institutions. While the resulting crises after a cyber-event risk inadvertent escalation, the real danger is the erosion of cyber norms. With each new cyber-disruption, the shock decreases, and we grow to expect disorder. The resulting uncertainty and chaos undermines our trust in the open Internet architecture and risks upsetting stability inherent in cyber-exchanges to date.

To read the entire article from The Washington Post, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

Two Israeli Cops, Three Terrorists Dead in Shootout on Temple Mount

Shortly after 7 a.m. on Friday morning, three terrorists who just finished prayers at the Al Aqsa Mosques on Temple Mount in Jerusalem killed two Israeli police officers. The terrorists then attempted to retreat to the Al Aqsa mosque where they were killed by other Israeli police officers.

The Temple Mount is among the holiest and the most contentious places in the country. Both the Jews and Arabs claim it for religious significance. However, Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said that the latest “terrorist incident” was stopped despite the death of the two policemen and added that all three attackers were killed. At least one had a knife and tried to stab Israelis, he said.

Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said the attackers were from the Israeli Arab city of Um El Fahm and were Israeli citizens.

The slain officers were identified as Hail Stawi, 30, of Majar and Kaamil Snaan, 22, of Horfis.

Video from the Temple Mount esplanade showed Israeli security forces taking cover amid a hail of gunfire, and police shooting a man at close range. Police ordered the plaza cleared and closed ahead of noon prayers Friday.

The fighting inside the complex was one of the worst incidents of violence on the Temple Mount in years, and the images of the gun battle and fatalities are liable to raise tensions throughout the region. Violent clashes on the Temple Mount have been the spark for prolonged and deadly waves of Israeli-Palestinian violence in the past.

The video from Israeli news shows one of the attackers fighting with and being shot by Israeli police.

No one claimed responsibility for the attack, but the militant Palestinian group Hamas celebrated it.

“The Hamas movement praises the guerrilla attack in Jerusalem. It is a legitimate right for our people and the best evidence of their unity in resisting the brutal occupation,” Hamas spokesman Abdel Latif al-Qanua said.

The area has been quoted in the Hebrew scriptures as Mount Zion and was where Abraham bound Isaac. In the Muslim religion, it was the site of Mohammed’s journey to Jerusalem and ascent to heaven.

To read the entire article from The Los Angeles Times, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

Clint Eastwood Casting Real Heroes in Paris Train Attack Film

Clint Eastwood’s next film about a terror attack on a train in Paris that was thwarted by three American men on vacation, will star the actual heroes of the 2015 incident.

Eastwood’s film, “The 15:17 to Paris” is based on the book the trio, Anthony Sadler, Alek Skarlatos, and Spencer Stone co-wrote with Jeffrey E Stern. The three men will play themselves in the film despite having no acting experience.

Actors will play younger versions of the trio in the film, which is thought to focus on the three men’s friendship.

The men were awarded Legion d’honneur medals for their actions.

They also received a hero award from Eastwood himself at an awards ceremony last year.

Sadler, Skarlatos and Stone were among a number of passengers who overpowered a heavily armed man who had opened fire on the train.

Stone and Skarlatos were both off-duty servicemen, while Sadler was a student at California State University.

The man they apprehended was later named as Ayoub El-Khazzani, a Moroccan believed to have had links to radical Islam.

The film is the latest in a series of movies Eastwood has made based on real-life people in extraordinary situations.

His last film, Sully, told of pilot Chesley Sullenberger, who landed his damaged plane on the Hudson River in 2009.

If made, The 15:17 to Paris will not be the first fact-inspired film to feature non-actors in leading roles.

In 2012 release Act of Valour, real-life Navy Seals were shown embarking on a fictional covert mission.

The film will also star Jenna Fisher (“The Office”) and Judy Greer (“War for the Planet of the Apes”). The men, who have been friends since meeting as young boys in California, were hailed as heroes after the thwarted attack, as were two other passengers.

To read the entire article from the BBC click here:

Photo courtesy White House

Trump Arrives in Paris for Bastille Day, CT Talks

U.S. President Donald Trump will attempt to mend some fences with the French as he arrived in Paris today. Trump a year ago characterized Paris as an unsafe city due to terrorism will mark the French national holiday, Bastille Day, hold counter-terrorism talks with French President Emmanuel Macron and mark the US’ 100th anniversary of entering World War I.

The president left Washington on Wednesday evening and arrived in Paris at 9 a.m. local time. He’s scheduled to meet with Macron and French military leaders later today before issuing a statement to the press.

Before departing the U.S., the president gave several interviews at the White House, including an extended conversation with Pat Robertson of the Christian Broadcasting Network, a prominent figure in conservative political and religious circles.

A year ago Trump described Paris as “so, so, so out of control, so dangerous,” because of terrorists operating there. More recently he suggested that Islamic State attacks in Paris had diminished its standing as a world-class destination.

As he pulled the U.S. out of the 2015 international Paris accord to control greenhouse gas emissions, Trump said he was elected to represent “Pittsburgh, not Paris.” Nevertheless, he subsequently accepted President Macron’s invitation to attend the country’s annual mid-July celebrations.

During his two-day visit, Trump will meet with Macron, whose political fortunes have soared this year. The U.S. president also will lunch with military officials, tour the tomb of Napoleon Bonaparte and join in Bastille Day celebrations Friday.

The two leaders are scheduled to meet Thursday before speaking to reporters.

On Friday, Trump and his wife, Melania, will attend the annual Bastille Day parade, which will include both French and U.S. military personnel.

There is hope in some circles that the Trump visit will mend some fences between the allies who fought two world wars together after the president’s criticism of the city and the government during the 2016 election.

To read the entire article from Voice of America click here:

Photo courtesy White House

US Soldier in Hawaii Caught Passing Classified Data, Drone to ISIS

A senior NCO stationed in the US Army’s Schofield Barracks in Hawaii was arrested this weekend after allegedly attempting to provide military documents and a drone to the ISIS terrorist group.

The soldier, an Air Traffic Controller, Sgt. 1st Class Ikaika Kang, 34, was arrested late Saturday night by an FBI SWAT team at the Schofield Barracks in Honolulu, in a statement released by the FBI.

FBI Special Agent Jimmy Chen alleged in an affidavit that Kang tried to give classified and unclassified military documents and a drone to undercover agents and informants whom he believed would pass the information on to ISIS. Kang is also accused of attempting to teach the group combat techniques.

Most notably, Chen alleged that Kang swore an oath of loyalty — known as bayat — to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi on Saturday, shortly before his arrest. After doing so, Kang allegedly told an undercover agent that he wanted to use his rifle to “kill a bunch of people.”

The FBI said it believes that Kang, a member of the 25th Infantry Division and a trained air traffic controller, was a lone actor and is not associated with others who may present a threat to Hawaii.

Chen’s affidavit says that Kang admitted trying to transfer classified documents to ISIS, but claimed the information was “old and no longer posed any harm to the United States.”

Kang has been under investigation by the U.S. Army and the FBI for over a year, according to Delacourt. The affidavit says the Army reported Kang to the FBI in August 2016 after “it appeared that Kang was becoming radicalized.”

The affidavit alleges that Kang had a history of “threatening statements.” At one point in 2012, Kang’s security clearance was suspended after he was reprimanded repeatedly for “threatening to hurt or kill other service members, and for arguing pro-ISIS views while at work and on-post.” The document claims Kang’s clearance was reinstated the following year after he complied with “military requirements stemming from the investigation.”

Kang also allegedly told the informant that Omar Mateen, the gunman who killed nearly 50 people at an Orlando gay bar in June 2016 “did what he had to do.” He also allegedly said “America is the only terrorist organization” and that he “believed in the mass killing of Jews.”

Kang, a Hawaii native, enlisted in the Army in December 2001, months after the 9/11 terror attacks. He served in Iraq from March 2010 to February 2011 and Afghanistan from July 2013 to April 2014.

Kang’s father, Clifford, said that his son may be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from his tours overseas.

“He’s a great kid. He’s not real outgoing, he’s never been, but neither was I,” Kang told Hawaii News Now. “But other than that he’s a great kid, a normal kid who grew up in Waimanalo.”

While no classified documents ever made it into the hands of ISIS, this is a serious incident and the military and FBI will handle it as such. It is possible that Kang is suffering from PTSD or some other related mental illness but that may not stop his prosecution.

He was erroneously credited with having “extensive combat training” by several news outlets. What they failed to mention that it was “Level IV Tactical Combat Instructor” status, which gives Kang the ability to serve as an instructor in combatives to other soldiers. At the time of the events in this case, skill level IV was the highest level of training available and required the completion of a 160-hour, four-week course.

To read the entire article from Fox News, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

SE Asia Muslim Nations Worry Extremism from Philippines Will Spread

The armed conflict between the government forces of the Philippines and the Abu Sayyaf and other Islamist militant groups during the siege of Marawi has drawn the interest of other Muslim-majority countries in the region.

The other Muslim nations are looking for signs that extremist activity is on the rise in their own countries

Isnilon Hapilon, head of the Islamist militant group Abu Sayyaf, sat front and center, and was flanked by brothers Abdullah and Omarkhayam Maute, founders of the Maute group, another extremist organization. Both groups have pledged allegiance to IS. When Philippine security forces attempted to arrest Hapilon on May 23, the Mautes put the takeover plan into action, beginning a bloody clash with the military that pushed President Rodrigo Duterte to place all of Mindanao under martial law. Manila apparently called in help from U.S. special operations forces, despite the president having ordered the American military out of the country.

Attempts to suppress the insurgency, including aerial bombings by the Philippine military, have left more than 400 dead, including 44 civilians and around 300 of the 500 Maute fighters.

Home-grown

“I am very, very, very sorry,” Duterte said June 20 to a group of those forced by the conflict to evacuate. The president’s roots on Mindanao run deep: he served as mayor of Davao, a large city on the island, for more than 20 years, during which time he established his law-and-order reputation with a harsh crackdown on drug users and those involved in the drug trade. But Duterte seems to have underestimated the difficulty of the current conflict. The military is gearing up for a long fight, and it is impossible to predict with certainty when the insurgents will be subdued.

The Philippines’ population is roughly 90% Christian. But the country’s southern regions are home to a sizable Muslim population. Abu Sayyaf began as a local separatist group, only gradually adopting the extremist ideology of IS. The Mautes were prominent members of Marawi society before becoming radicalized. Both groups have since been involved in bombings and kidnappings. Hapilon is considered the leader of IS in Southeast Asia.

The Islamic State’s activities do in fact span the region. Citizens of Indonesia, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia were among the fighters killed in the Marawi siege. Groups and lone actors radicalized through social media have carried out attacks, including suicide bombings, in various nations. In Indonesia, there are already IS cells “in almost every province,” Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo said in June, calling the largely Christian province of Papua a rare exception. Jamaah Ansharut Daulah, an Indonesian group that has pledged allegiance to IS, was behind a May suicide bombing in Jakarta that killed or injured 10, according to security officials.

Extremist groups are also behind a spate of kidnappings in waters off Mindanao, an area bordered by the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia. The three neighbors have started joint maritime patrols to bring the matter under control.

Prior to President Duterte’s election, the Philippines had close ties to the US and joint US/Filipino military operations had Abu Sayyaf on the run. But Duterte has distanced himself from the US since taking over and the limited US involvement has allowed the terror organization to regrow stronger.

The economic boom in Southeast Asia could be threatened by the rise of these Islamist terror groups, who have already pledged their loyalty to the Islamic State.

To read the entire article from Asia-Nikkei.com, click here:

Photo Islamic State