Last month, in a deadly clash in Lanao del Norte province, Islamist militants affiliated with the Middle East-based Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) killed six commandos from the Philippine Army’s elite Scout Ranger battalion.
It was only when former president Benigno Aquino revived a 15-year military modernization program that the military leadership began to focus on external defense capabilities.
The death of Baghdadi would likely be a terrible blow to Islamist militant organizations worldwide but it would not certainly put an end to terrorism. The world has to watch the unfolding drama and how extremism will mutate and rise again. By Manny Mogato
