Malaysian police said on September 26 that 15 people, mostly Indonesian citizens alleged to have links with the self-proclaimed Islamic State terrorist group, have been arrested.
Four government soldiers and four Maute group militants have been killed in a clash in the southern Philippines, the Philippine military said on March 15.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has approved "in principle" the recommendation made by security forces to place southern Mindanao island under martial law for another year, the country’s defense chief said on December 5.
Three Indonesian fishermen abducted by members of an Islamist group have been freed 18 months after they were abducted in waters off the southern Philippines, the Philippine military said on September 16.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has proposed a dialogue between his administration and the country's Islamist extremist Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) to end conflicts.
The Abu Sayyaf militant group is holding 10 hostages, including a Dutch national, three Indonesians and six Filipinos, said Brigadier General Cirilito Sobejana, commander of the military’s Joint Task Force, on March 27.
At least 44 pro-Islamic State (IS) militants have been killed in clashes between government troops and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) in the southern Philippines, said an Filipino army spokesman on March 11.
Philippine authorities said on February 26 they are aware of terror threats in the country’s southern region and have kept the situation under control.
The Philippine army on February 23 warned that gunmen ousted from the southern Philippine city of Marawi months ago are yet to abandon their objective to create a caliphate in Southeast Asia.
The Philippine Congress on December 13 has approved the one-year extension of martial law in Mindanao Island, aiming to completely eradicate terrorists and rebels in the country’s southern region.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) support the extension of martial law in the southern region of Mindanao to address security threats, said AFP spokesman Major General Restituto Padilla.
The Maute terrorist group remains a threat to the region although Marawi city of Mindanao has been liberated, warned Armed Forces of the Philippine (AFP) on December 8.
Filipino government forces have rescued all hostages held by the pro-Islamic States (IS) militants that took over southern Marawi city for five months, Colonel Romeo Brawner told a press conference on October 22.
Indonesian authorities have tightened security in some areas bordering the Philippines and at the Philippine diplomatic mission in Jakarta following Manila's declaration that its southern city of Marawi has been liberated from pro-Islamic State militants.
The government armed forces will liberate the southern Marawi city in a few days, announced General Eduardo Ano, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, in a televised press conference on October 16.
The two last leaders of a pro-Islamic State (IS) militant group in the southern Philippines, including a top Asian terror suspect, have been killed, according to Philippine security sources.
The Philippine army announced on October 15 that its military operation to retake the southern city of Marawi from Maute militants loyal to the Islamic State (IS) will end soon.
More troops will be deployed to Marawi city in southern Philippines, to engage in the fight to liberate the city from the Maute Group, a Philippine military official said.