ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

FILE IMAGE: AFP On October 17, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte declared the city of Marawi liberated from ISIS militants following a five-month standoff with a local branch of the terrorist group. “I hereby declare Marawi City liberated from the terrorist influence that marks the beginning of rehabilitation of Marawi,” Duterte said during a visit on the island of Mindanao. However, about 20-30 ISIS linked militants were still remaining in the city with 20 hostages when the presiden made his statement. Philippine security forces are now clashing with them. The announcement of the city liberation came after Philippine  Defense Secretary, Delfin Lorenzana, said two top ISIS members in Marawi – Ipsilon Hapilon and Omar Maute – were killed in a firefight with government forces. Hapilon was the leader of the Abu Sayyaf militant group, and was named by ISIS as the group’s emir in Southeast Asia. According to the Philippine armed Forces, over 800 ISIS militants and 162 g

Chinese soldiers march past Tiananmen Square before a military parade in Beijing marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. (Kevin Frayer / Getty Images) The Daily Star  posits  that because China is building a six-lane highway in its northeast on route to North Korea, this means preparation for deployment of tanks and troops to its North Korean border. The photos obtained by Daily Star Online show Chinese construction workers digging tunnels through the mountains and massive cranes constructing bridges over rivers. Truly an unprecedented act of aggression. Click to see the full-size image Click to see the full-size image As the situation on the Korean Peninsula escalates, the US experts are quick to stoke the fires as some sort of wishful thinking, trying to at the very least make it look like Beijing may support the US and South Korea, if the conflict was to escalate even further. Click to see the full-size image Scott Snyder, senior fellow for Kor

Iraqi battle tanks enter Kirkuk city. Click to see the full-size image The Iraqi Army and the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) have been rapidly developing momentum in the countryside of Kirkuk city amid sporadic clashes with the Kurdish Peshmerga. The Peshmerga is a military force of the separatist Kurdistan Regional Government that seeks to turn the Kurdistan Region into an independent state and include the oil-rich province of Kirkuk into this entity. The army and the PMU launched its advance in the area on late October 14.  Since then, government forces have captured the villages of Kifri and Tuz-Khormato, K1 Airbase, North Oil Company in the Kirkuk countryside and entered Kirkuk city itself. Pro-Kurdish sources say that the Peshmerga is still in control of Bai Hassan and Havan oil fields. Iraqi troops are near North Oil Company Clashes between the sides are reported south and southwest of the city. The Iraqi army is entering Kirkuk city amid the clashes: