ISIS Expanding? 1,200 Fighters Found in the Philippines

The Philippines is an open battlefield right now as security forces go head to head against Islamic radicals in the city of Mawrari.

An estimated 2,000 civilians are believed to be trapped in the city as explosions, air strikes, and gun battles between government forces and ISIS sympathizers rage on.

The recent terror in the Philippines could be a sign of a growing threat of ISIS in that region.

Leaders from the Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia's largest annual security summit, say there are about 1,200 ISIS fighters in the Philippines, 40 of whom are from Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim majority country.

Philippine Defense Undersecretary Ricardo David, speaking at the same summit, admitted to greatly underestimating the amount of ISIS fighters in his country.

"I really don't know, my figure is about 250-400, a lot less," he said.

Indonesian Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu called the militants "killing machines" and says the country needs a full-scale regional fight against the Islamic radicals.

"The terrorism threat in this region has evolved into an unprecedented immediate level of emergency," said Gen Ryamizard, after Indonesia was struck with twin suicide attacks that killed three police officers last month.

"The death group's area of operation has gone global," he added.

The terror threat isn't going away any time soon. Many are concerned hundreds of South-east Asian fighters who fought for ISIS in Syria and Iraq will return to wage more war in their home countries.

Officials say foreign fighters are using "back channels" in the Sulu and Celebes Seas near the borders of the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia to enter the region cause chaos.