Asean defence ministers are meeting today to map out a response to possible new threats posed by ISIS as some of its fighters return to Asia to regroup and recruit after its defeat in the Middle East. A United States-backed coalition of Arab and Kurdish forces last week retook Raqqa, in Syria, marking the symbolic demise of the ISIS caliphate. Following these defeats, ISIS fighters are regrouping in remote areas in Syria and Iraq. These are among the new threats expected to be discussed during the 11th Asean Defence Ministers' Meeting (ADMM), set for today and tomorrow, at the Clark special economic zone. Asean defence ministers will be meeting as Philippine troops seek to declare an end to the five-month-long Marawi siege, the country's biggest internal security crisis in years.

Source: The Nation Bangkok October 22, 2017 21:56 UTC