IS Southeast Asia chief killed in Philippines: govt

The head of the Islamic State group in Southeast Asia, who figures on the US "most wanted terrorists" list, was killed on Monday in the battle to reclaim a militant-held Philippines city, officials said. Isnilon Hapilon's reported death came during a final push to end the nearly five-month siege of Marawi, a battle that has claimed more than 1,000 lives and raised fears that IS was seeking to set up a regional base in the southern Philippines. President Rodrigo Duterte and security analysts say Hapilon has been a key figure in the jihadist outfit's drive to establish a Southeast Asian caliphate as they suffer battlefield defeats in Iraq and Syria.

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