Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Hernando Iriberri on Tuesday denied the existence of jihadist camps in Mindanao allegedly to train Filipino militants who would eventually be recruited to an international terrorist group.
“We have not received any report pertaining to the existence of four jihadist camps as mentioned in one of the dailies,” he told reporters at a press conference at Camp Aguinaldo.
A news report said the training camps were located in Sarangani, Cararao in Lanao province, Barangay Tanum in Patikul, Sulu, and Palembang in Sultan Kudarat.
Last week, eight armed men carrying the flag of extremist Islamic State led by a certain Ansar Al Khalifa and Mohd Jaafar Maguid were killed in an encounter with government troops in Sultan Kudarat. The group reportedly called themselves as Ansar Khilafah Philippines, a group of self-declared terrorists supposedly linked with the Isis.
The Indonesian national who was killed in the encounter was reportedly a former member of the Jemaah Islamiyah and was a member of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
Iriberri, however, said they were only a criminal group and not a terrorist one.
“Based on our assessment, they are not a group na sinasabi nilang Isis sila. They want to be associated with the Isis but another report that we got is that itong group na ito ay purely criminal group who are engaged in extortion activities in cattle rustling and robbery,” he said.
“Wala po kaming report na sila ay Isis. We have not established any direct link (with this group and) Isis,” he said.
Iriberri assured that the AFP was doing its best to prevent this group from committing terror acts in the country. RC