ISIS Looking to Rebound in the Philippines—And Spread

Indonesia was hit by a series of deadly bombings this past May.  The attacks targeted churches and were carried out by families with young children, including a family of six in Surbaya, Indonesia’s second largest city.   Indonesian police say an attack at police headquarters the following morning was carried out by a family of five that included an eight year old child.  ISIS claimed responsibility for the church attacks.

As terrorist tactics across the region demonstrate new methods of attack, experts are concerned by a larger picture they’ve seen coming together for more than a year now, beginning with an ISIS-affiliated attack on the Philippines’ southern island of Mindanao last summer, which took authorities months to suppress.  There are continued concerns that tactics utilized by ISIS in Iraq and Syria, are being brought back to the region, making the challenges facing authorities all the greater.  

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