Indonesia Says 1,200 Daesh Operatives in Philippines

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – There are about 1,200 Daesh (ISIL or ISIS) operatives in the Philippines, including foreigners of whom 40 are from Indonesia, the Indonesian defense minister told an international security forum Sunday.

Speaking in Singapore amid a bloody standoff between Philippine troops and militants fighting under the Daesh flag in Marawi city, Indonesian Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu called the militants “killing machines” and urged full-scale regional cooperation against them, AFP reported.

“I was advised last night, 1,200 ISIS in the Philippines, around 40 from Indonesia,” Ryacudu told the Shangri-La Dialogue.

Hundreds of the terrorists rampaged through Marawi, a city of 200,000 in the south of the mainly Catholic Philippines, on May 23 after government forces attempted to arrest their leader, Isnilon Hapilon.

Up to 50 gunmen are still controlling the city center nearly two weeks after the start of fighting that has killed 177 people including 120 militants.

“How can we tackle these foreign fighters? We have to be comprehensive,” said Ryacudu, a retired general.

“We have to find… complete ways but we must exercise caution, they are killing machines. Their aim is to kill other people so that’s why it’s our responsibility that we have common understanding, consensus and common proceedings on how to fight these foreign fighters.”