Defense Minister : There Are 1,200 ISIS Militias In Philippines
12 June 2017 21:46 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu said that his statement saying that there were 1,200 ISIS militias in the Philippines was based on classified files. Ryamizard revealed the data when he spoke at the Shangri-La Dialogue held in Singapore last week.
“The data is in my possession. But I can’t explain it any further,” Ryamizard said during a coordination meeting at the Coordinating Political, Legal, and Security Affairs in Jakarta today.
Ryamizard claims that the information attracts attention from neighboring countries attempting to study radical group movements.
Ryamizard claims that he has already predicted the emergence of ISIS in the Mindanao, Philippines, which was established by the Maute group.
“I said this one and a half year ago. It was a certainty and extremely serious. Now, it did happen,” Ryamizard said.
Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo had also expressed similar concerns in the past regarding ISIS militias dwelling in Southeast Asia.
Despite discrepancies in the numbers presented by General Gatot Nurmantyo and Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu, both expressed concerns about the possibility of the militias entering Indonesian territories.
Gatot predicted that there are only 500 ISIS members in the Philippines.
YOHANES PASKALIS