[Gulf Today] Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte denounced Islamic State rebels in the Middle East as “a totally bankrupt and idiotic movement” even as the military reported the killing of seven rogue Moro militants in a renewed offensive against terrorists in Mindanao. Duterte said, "It’s (IS) a totally bankrupt and idiotic movement that has nothing except to kill and to destroy and to kill all the infidels, which means that if you are not a Muslim, you are an infidel."In the same speech, Duterte warned he would unleash the government’s “huge arsenal of weapons” to go after terrorists who continue to threaten troubled Mindanao. He said, "I’m warning you rebels that I have weapons. You do some fighting there and I will freely use all the jets to bomb you. And If I hurt civilians, then, it’s part of of the territory.”
The president’s warning came as the military reported on Tuesday the killing of seven members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters in its renewed offensive in Maguindanao province.
Division commander Cirilito Sabejana said his men used 108 Howitzer cannons to disperse about 80 armed members of the BIFF in a village in Sultan sa Barongis. He said, "Some of them were carrying improvised explosives to be used against non-military targets,” adding that four other BIFF members were injured in the attack.