Moro Conflict

The MILF controls territory in the southern Philippines, governed by Shariah law

According to the spokesman, 60% of the material of the armed forces is “obsolete”, if not “disintegrated”

At least 18 people were killed when two bombs hit a church on a southern Philippine island that is a stronghold of Islamist militants, the military said Sunday, days after voters backed the creation of a new Muslim autonomous region, reports AFP. 

The decapitated bodies of five civilians have been found in a Philippine city occupied by Islamist rebels, the military said on Wednesday, warning the number of residents killed by rebel “atrocities” could rise sharply as troops retake more ground.

About 300 pro-ISIS militants on Wednesday stormed a school in the southern Philippines and are holding students hostage, Reuters reported.
Philippine officials say Muslim rebels are engaging troops in a gunbattle in Pigcawayan town in North Cotabato in an attack that may be an attempt to divert the military’s focus away from the militants who have laid siege on southern Marawi city.

With bomb-proof tunnels, anti-tank weapons hidden in mosques, human shields and a "mastery" of the terrain, Islamist militants holed up in a southern Philippine city are proving a far tougher opponent than military chiefs expected.

Philippine troops engaged Islamic State-linked militants in pitched clashes on Thursday around the southern city of Marawi as the military deployed tanks to secure vital installations in a battle that has become a major test for President Rodrigo Duterte’s government.

An explosion went up outside a post office in Rome, reported the Independent.

The blast damaged a car nearby but no injuries have been reported.  

The Italian investigators said it may have been caused by a letter bomb.  The device was homemade and placed between two cars in a car park in central Rome. 

More to follow. 

Terrorists are planning to kidnap foreigners in tourist hotspots across the central and western Philippines, Western governments said yesterday following a foiled abduction attempt by Islamic militants a month ago.

A bomb exploded outside a bank in Athens following a phone call.

A security guard in a bank near by at Santaroza street saw two people on a motorcycle leaving a bag and heading towards the Exarchia area. About the same time a phone call said that a bomb will go off in 35′ minutes.