Relatives of killed Filipino soldiers mourn as their bodies arrive at the Villamor Airbase in Pasay city, south of Manila last month. Seven soldiers were killed and 13 injured in clashes with suspected Islamist militants in the southern Philippines on Jun

Video of Philippine Islamists pledging support to ISIS sparks fear of convergence between the groups

A clip of a purported Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) member pledging support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) was uploaded to YouTube on June 24. The pledge was made in Arabic and played over jihadist-inspired graphics. The objective of the clip remains unclear.

… Joseph Franco is an associate research fellow with Singapore’s Centre of Excellence for National Security, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University.