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Terrorism in Southeast Asia: The Philippines

Philippine Army troops man a roadblock outside Zamboanga, on the southern island of Mindanao, checking vehicles for guns and explosives.
Michael Sullivan, NPR
Philippine Army troops man a roadblock outside Zamboanga, on the southern island of Mindanao, checking vehicles for guns and explosives.

Analysts say renegade elements of the al Qaeda-linked group Jemaah Islamiyah who have fled a crackdown in Indonesia are turning up in the Muslim region of the southern Philippines. They appear to be forming new alliances with homegrown groups -- which could lead to larger, more lethal terrorist attacks.

The Philippines is no stranger to international terrorism. Osama Bin Laden's brother-in-law, Mohammad Jamal Khalifa began developing a network there in the early 1990s, which included the Abu Sayyaf group. Other groups -- some bent on achieving independence for Muslim-dominated areas in the south -- have also been active.

Michael Sullivan has the second of a series of reports on efforts to combat terrorism in Southeast Asia.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Michael Sullivan is NPR's Senior Asia Correspondent. He moved to Hanoi to open NPR's Southeast Asia Bureau in 2003. Before that, he spent six years as NPR's South Asia correspondent based in but seldom seen in New Delhi.
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