The Pentagon is mulling over a plan to give the military authority to launch airstrikes against Islamic State targets in the Philippines, two defense officials told NBC News Monday.
If the plan is approved, armed drones would carry out the strikes, which would hit targets considered threats to U.S. allies in the region, the officials said. The authority could be granted as early as Tuesday. The U.S. has a small military presence in the Philippines, supporting the country's forces that are fighting ISIS in the southern islands. "We are providing them some training and some guidance in terms of how to deal with an enemy that fights in ways that are not like most people have ever had to deal with," Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Monday.
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