“There is concern that Isis may well seek to declare a caliphate, an Islamic caliphate, in the southern Philippines,” she told Sky News on Sunday. Julie Bishop asks Trump administration to increase engagement in Indo-Pacific Read moreThe leader of the Philippines-based terrorist group Abu Sayyaf had recently been declared an emir, or leader, by Isis, Bishop said. Australia’s security and intelligence agencies have been working closely with Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines to stamp out the terrorist threat in the region. “He is intent on wiping out the drug lords ... he is unapologetic, he is determined to rid the Philippines of ice and he will stop at nothing,” Bishop told Sky News on Sunday. “I have no idea the source of that story, I put it down to fake news,” she told Sky News.

Source: The Guardian March 25, 2017 23:48 UTC