Foiled terror attack linked to Islamic State militants

MANILA — A foiled attack on a central Philippine resort island last week was a kidnapping and bombing mission by at least three extremist groups affiliated with the Islamic State group in one of their most daring terror plots, security officials said Saturday.

The Philippine military initially said government forces, backed by air strikes, successfully detected and thwarted a kidnapping plot by Abu Sayyaf militants in the island province of Bohol, a popular tourist destination far from the militants’ southern jungle bases.

Three soldiers, a policeman, two villagers and at least four militants, including a key Abu Sayyaf commander and spokesman Moammar Askali, were killed in the siege Tuesday in Bohol’s Inabanga town.

Military spokesman Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla said combined military and police forces in Bohol thwarted “major terrorist activities” by the militants, who were aiming to divert the military’s focus from intense offensives on the militants’ jungle encampments in southern Sulu province and outlying islands.

Interviews with three security officials, along with documents and pictures seen by the Associated Press, indicate that three extremist groups that have pledged allegiance to Islamic State deployed their leading bombers and fighters, some of whom wore Islamic State-style black flag patches, for the Bohol assault. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity.

It remains unclear what the targets of the militants were, but Bohol draws foreign and local tourists for its beach resorts, waterfalls, caves and wildlife. Bohol island lies 397 miles southeast of Manila and is about an hour by boat from Cebu province, a trade and tourism center. Bohol is to host a meeting next week of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.