QUEZON City, Philippines (Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte is expected to discuss with his Indonesian counterpart, President Joko Widodo, the reported presence of Indonesian terrorists in Marawi city.
In an earlier interview, President Duterte confirmed that the Maute Group counts foreign nationals as their members. Aside from Indonesians, there are also Malaysians, Saudis and Yemenis.
Indonesian Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu confirmed Duterte’s statement, saying there were about 1,200 Islamist State terrorists in the country, and that 40 of them were from Indonesia.
He disclosed this during the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue, organized by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies.
The minister–who called the militants “killing machines”— also estimated that there were up to a million IS sympathizers in Indonesia.
He urged a full-scale regional cooperation against the terrorists.
