IT is not true that the infamous terrorist group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has training camps in the country, the Philippine government said Tuesday.
“According to National Security Adviser Secretary Cesar Garcia, ‘ISIS has no training camps in the Philippines,” Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said in a text statement.
He quoted Garcia saying that “ISIS-linked personalities” have tried to link-up with local jihadist or terrorist groups.
“Some of these ISIS-linked personalities, who are really few in number, have also sought refuge in the base areas of these local terrorist groups,” Garcia told him.
UK-based tabloid MailOnline reported that the Philippines “has become the latest ISIS target for expansion” as it shared a video footage of what is said to be an ISIS training camp in the Philippines.
The video features a man talking in Filipino, encouraging others to join the group, and recruits undergoing training. They are shown scaling rope and wooden ladders and practicing with firearms.
The report quoted Armed Forces of the Philippines-Western Mindanao Command spokesperson Filemon Tan Jr. who attributed the video to the group Ansar al-Khalifa.
Ansar al-Khalifa supposedly declared its support for ISIS but MailOnline also quoted AFP spokesperson Colonel Restituto Padilla saying that the group has no proven links with the ISIS.