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.

Bangladesh has deployed secret police in the burgeoning refugee camps near its border with Myanmar, where Rohingya claiming to be members of a militant group say they have found fertile ground for recruitment.Authorities in Bangladesh, which was already grappling with its own Islamist militancy problem before the latest mass influx of Rohingya refugees, have repeatedly said there are no extremists among the new arrivals.But inside the camps are a number of self-proclaimed members of the ARSA

Myanmar's army said Sunday it had discovered a mass grave containing the bodies of 28 Hindus, including women and children, in violence-wracked Rakhine state, blaming the killings on Muslim Rohingya militants.Thousands of Hindus have fled villages where they once lived alongside Muslims, alleging that they were targeted by militants whose August 25 raids plunged Rakhine into communal violence.The announcement could not be independently verified in an region where access has been tightly

A Catholic priest held hostage for almost four months in the beleaguered southern city of Marawi was rescued hours after a deadly battle between Philippine soldiers and the Islamic State-allied militants.Father Rey Teresito Larroza Soganub – more commonly known as “Father Chito” – was found abandoned with another hostage, Lordbin Noblesa Acopio, near a mosque early Sunday.