Duterte, who was in the spotlight last week over his televised tirade against the US and President Barack Obama, said special forces now training Filipino troops were high-value targets for the Islamic State-linked Abu Sayyaf as counter-insurgency operations intensify. “These special forces, they have to go,” Duterte said in a speech during an oath-taking ceremony for new officials. Some US special forces have been killed in the southern Philippines since 2002, when Washington deployed soldiers to train and advise local units fighting Abu Sayyaf in OperationEnduring Freedom, part of its global anti-terror strategy. The US programme was discontinued in the Philippines in 2015 but a small troop presence has remained for logistics and technical support. Washington has shifted much of its security focus in the Philippines towards the South China Sea.

Source: Hindustan Times September 12, 2016 11:03 UTC