U.S. opens new theater of war on terror, joining Philippines fight against ISIS-linked militants

Marawi City
(Image credit: Noel Celis/Getty Images)

The United States military is now involved in the three-week siege against militants claiming ties to the Islamic State in the Philippines' Marawi City, Philippine officials said Saturday. U.S. troops "are not fighting. They are just providing technical support," said Lieutenant Colonel Jo-Ar Herrera, a representative of the Philippine army.

The U.S. embassy in Manila confirmed the military intervention but did not elaborate. "The United States is a proud ally of the Philippines, and we will continue to work with the Philippines to address shared threats to the peace and security of our countries," said an embassy statement.

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Bonnie Kristian

Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.