After major battlefield setbacks in Iraq and Syria, ISIS is looking to regroup. A five-month standoff in the Philippine city of Marawi offers a glimpse of where the group’s plans could lay, write Patrick B. Johnston and Colin P. Clarke in Foreign Policy.
“Even if the Philippines fails to mature into a major node in the Islamic State’s protean global network, it will likely remain fertile ground for the future recruitment, financing, and propagation of propaganda inspired by or directly supporting the Islamic State and its violent agenda,” they argue.
“Southeast Asia has long been a hotbed of Islamic extremism and violence. For example, neighboring Indonesia -- the world’s most populous Muslim country -- was the original home of key al Qaeda leaders before the 9/11 attacks. More recently it has seen an uptick of arrests related to terrorist plots by Islamic extremists. Still, the nucleus of jihadis actively fighting in, and possibly returning to, the Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries is relatively small compared to other countries in other regions such as North Africa. Nonetheless, as the core Islamic State unravels, the Philippines is likely to continue to become increasingly useful to the group as a safety valve outside of the Middle East.”
“Even if the Philippines fails to mature into a major node in the Islamic State’s protean global network, it will likely remain fertile ground for the future recruitment, financing, and propagation of propaganda inspired by or directly supporting the Islamic State and its violent agenda,” they argue.
“Southeast Asia has long been a hotbed of Islamic extremism and violence. For example, neighboring Indonesia -- the world’s most populous Muslim country -- was the original home of key al Qaeda leaders before the 9/11 attacks. More recently it has seen an uptick of arrests related to terrorist plots by Islamic extremists. Still, the nucleus of jihadis actively fighting in, and possibly returning to, the Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries is relatively small compared to other countries in other regions such as North Africa. Nonetheless, as the core Islamic State unravels, the Philippines is likely to continue to become increasingly useful to the group as a safety valve outside of the Middle East.”
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