Security forces scoured islands in Mindanao for suspected Abu Sayyaf extremists who beheaded a Canadian tourist last week but have so far stumbled only on a small cache of firearms and a speedboat in Tawi-Tawi province, the military reported over the weekend.
Operations are proceeding amid rising fears the extremely violent Islamic State (IS), to which the Abu Sayyaf is now believed linked, may be looking to southern Philippines and other parts of Southeast Asia to set up another rebel caliphate—possibly this year.
In a statement to media via SMS on Friday, the Armed Forces of the Philippines Western Mindanao Command (AFP Wesmincom) reported the recovery of 11 firearms, ammunition and a speedboat on Saluag Island, known locally as Mardanas Island, and Mamanuk Island. The cache included four M16A1 rifles, one M79 grenade launcher, one US Carbine rifle, a .38-cal. revolver, a .357 revolver, an M16A1 outfitted with an M203 under-barrel grenade launcher, a .60-cal. machine gun and a .50-cal. machine gun.
Tan said the speedboat was believed “used for illegal activities.”
But so far, the heavily armed kidnappers have eluded capture. They are believed to be holding over 20 captives, among them, 10 Indonesians, eight Malaysians, a Norwegian and a Canadian, and some Filipinos.
On Thursday, troops backed by helicopter gunners recovered the torso of Canadian John Ridsdel, 68, near Patikul, Sulu. His severed head had been earlier left near the Jolo City Hall.
Wesmincom spokesperson Maj. Filemon Tan said the operations were being conducted by composite units under Joint Task Force Tawi-Tawi led by Rear Adm. Jorge Amba.
Meanwhile, a counterterrorism expert told the US House Committee on Homeland Security that the southern Philippines and other areas of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, where the Abu Sayyaf and other Islamic terror networks operate, could be the next targets of the dreaded IS.
Patrick Skinner, a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer now with a New York-based security consultancy, The Soufan Group (TSG), said the region’s long history of militancy and rising number of extremist groups adopting IS ideology make it attractive to the Sunni extremist network.
He wrote in a report released by TSG on the same day that “IS is finding Libya a difficult place to remain (in) and expand, and it is very possible that places like the southern Philippines will be its next priority.”
Analysts from the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) confirmed that IS had started a campaign to establish an Islamic caliphate in Asia.
In Davao City, Sen. Ralph Recto urged the government to channel its estimated P1.5-billion intelligence fund to stopping the terrorist advance in Sulu and other areas.
He said the government’s failure to wipe them out was a blot on the nation’s image.
Sen. Richard Gordon said in a statement the government apparently “lacks control over some areas of Mindanao because the Abu Sayyaf can still do its thing.”
With a report by the Straits Times/Asia News Network, and Julie Alipala, Inquirer Mindanao