ISIS crawls across Asia as the Filipino government continues to deny the extremist's presence

'Their influence is growing stronger, and it is expanding.'

ISIS propaganda videos continue to draw Muslim converts to the militant extremist group across Asia, including the Philippines and Indonesia.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Since ISIS appeared in the Philippines in December last year, the extremist group has done nothing but spread its propaganda, recruit members and spread across the land.

One month after the deadly Indonesia attack, Aleteia reported ISIS' movement into Southeast Asia as it erects more training camps and accepts more converts.

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) created a task force to fight ISIS propaganda, particularly in Southeast Asia, where extremist groups are reported to be disjointed.

Dispite propaganda videos, photos and several sources indicating the presence of jihadis in the Philippines, the Filipino government and officials continue to deny the group exists in the southern region of Mindanao, which has seen an increase in vionent activity.

During a press conference in Kuala Lumpur on Monday, MILF chairman Murad Ebrahim reported ISIS' attempt to erect a stronghold in Mindanao, which the Philippine government continued to ignore.

Senior analyst at the Philippine Institute for Peace, Violence and Terrorism Research, Rodolfo Mendoza, stated ISIS sympathizer groups were "planning big operations, like bombings, attacks or assassinations," adding, "Their influence is growing stronger, and it is expanding."

Meanwhile,  Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office Undersecretary Manuel Quezon III released a statement, in which he said ISIS was not even present in the Philippines.

Quezon quoted AFP spokesman Brigadier General Restituto Padilla to say, "[T]here are no verified reports that local terrorists groups [sic] are getting support from the IS. This has not been established; and that he said there's no direct relation between the group here and the bigger terror group in the Middle East."

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