Australia will train Filipino soldiers in urban warfare to combat the spread of the Islamic extremism after months of fierce fighting against militants in the country's south, it was announced Tuesday.Canberra has been aiding Manila against local supporters of the Islamic State group in the southern city of Marawi since September, deploying two AP-3C Orion aircraft for surveillance while helping in information-gathering and analysis.Defence chiefs in the Philippines on Monday declared vi

A five-month battle against Islamic State supporters in the southern Philippines that claimed more than 1,100 lives has ended following a final battle inside a mosque, defence chiefs said on Monday.The conclusion of the conflict ended immediate fears that IS would establish a Southeast Asian base in the southern city of Marawi.

At first glance, the endless rows of devastated buildings could be the aftermath of a great earthquake.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday declared a southern city "liberated from terrorists' influence" but the military said the five-month battle against militants loyal to the Islamic State group was not yet over.Duterte led rain-soaked soldiers in celebrations in Marawi, a day after the military announced the death of the head of the Islamic State group in Southeast Asia, Isnilon Hapilon, in a gunbattle in the city."Ladies and gentlemen, I hereby declare Marawi

The head of the Islamic State group in Southeast Asia, who figures on the US "most wanted terrorists" list, has been killed in the battle to reclaim a militant-held Philippines city, the country's defence minister said Monday.

Philippine troops Sunday bombed militants loyal to the Islamic State group who have held out for over four months in a southern city and the military said the conflict would be over "very soon".The army previously set a target of Sunday to end the fighting in Marawi, which it said has killed more than 1,000 people.

The Philippine government plans to target additional companies in its crackdown on tax evasion, said Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez.“We are on a roll, and this is part of the president’s programme to make our country more law abiding," Dominguez told Bloomberg Television’s Kathleen Hays in an interview in Washington on Friday. “Tax evasion is a really serious violation and we are going after” evaders.Dominguez said he expects a tax reform bill to receive lawmaker approval.

A Filipino suspect in a thwarted jihadist plot targeting New York's subway and Times Square will face legal proceedings seeking his extradition to the United States, the Philippine justice secretary said on Sunday.Russell Salic and two others have been charged with involvement in the plan to stage the attacks in the name of the Islamic State group during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in 2016.Salic was arrested in the Philippines in April 2017 and Washington had requested his extraditi

The Philippines' military chief hailed the United States as his nation's "number one ally" and announced a return of regular war games, following President Rodrigo Duterte's call for warmer ties.Duterte last week vowed to be "friendly" with the United States, signalling an end to relentless criticism that included a vow to end all joint military exercises and branding then US president Barack Obama a "son of a whore".Military chief General Eduardo

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, a fierce critic of the United States, is now singing Washington's praises for helping him fight pro-Islamic State group militants."There are so many factors involved.