Southeast Asia expects long fight against IS influence

Southeast Asian countries fighting Islamic State’s influence in the region lauded the killing of its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi but said security forces were preparing for a long battle to thwart the jihadist group’s ideology. The Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia, home to some of Asia’s most organized Islamist militants, said on Monday they were braced for retaliation by Islamic State loyalists, including “lone wolf ” attacks by locals radicalized by the group’s powerful online propaganda.

Though his death will unsettle Islamic State, it remains capable and dangerous, said Delfin Lorenzana, defense secretary of the Philippines, where the group’s influence has taken a hold among unschooled Muslim youth in its troubled Mindanao region. “This is a blow to the organization considering al-Baghdadi’s stature as a leader. But this is just a momentary setback considering the depth and reach of the organization worldwide,” Lorenzana said.

“Somebody will take his place.” The Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia are concerned Islamic State supporters from the region and those fleeing Iraq and Syria could exploit the porous borders, lawlessness and abundant arms found in Mindanao to take refuge in its far-flung villages. Malaysian police counter-terrorism chief Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay said the real concern was not Islamic State’s leadership but the effect of its teachings.

“It’s good news, but his death will have little impact here as the main problem remains the spread of the Islamic State ideology,” he told Reuters. “What we are most worried about now are ‘lone wolf’ attacks and those who are self-radicalized through the internet. We are still seeing the spread of IS teachings online.

IS publications and magazines from years ago are being reproduced and reshared,” he said. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison made a similar observation, and said Baghdadi’s death was by no means the end. “This is a many-headed monster ... As you cut one off, another one inevitably arises,” he told reporters.