The Islamic State loses one of the main recruiters in the Philippines. Abdul Salikala, high member of the pro-ISIS Dawlah Islamiya group, was captured in a raid. The group tries to raise its head after the carnage in Marawi

The Islamic State loses one of its main recruiters in the Philippines. Abdul Salikala, a senior member of Dawlah Islamiya, a pro-ISIS formation operating in the South Asian country, was captured in a joint police and military raid in the city of Libertad in the Zaboanga area. The man, long sought after by Manila intelligence, was monitored while he was recruiting men and women in the city of Siocon. Besides, he had brought several weapons there. There is no official information, but it is not excluded that he was planning an attack. The group to which Salikala belongs, is also called Maute-ISIS and is known for the 2017 siege of Marawi lasting about five months, following which over 1,000 jihadists were killed. Those who were not captured took refuge in the forests. Now it seems that the formation is trying to reorganize and raise its head, recruiting local civilians, taking advantage of the increasingly rampant poverty in the Philippine province.