Indonesian police believe that at least some of the guns used in last week’s Jakarta terrorist attack came from the Philippines. This new revelation adds to worries that Islamic State-linked militants may be gaining a foothold across the region.

Police spokesperson Anton Charliyan stated that 12 people arrested in counter-terrorist raids revealed that “well-built” guns originated from the Philippines, according to news reports.

He noted that police confiscated another nine guns during raids and believe that they came from another neighboring country.

The claims were met with skepticism from Philippine authorities.

Reacting to the reports, Philippines police said they would cooperate with Indonesian counterpart to determine whether the weapons did indeed originate from the country.

However, Philippines police spokesperson Wilben Mayor said it was unlikely that current intelligence would support the assertion. Instead, he raised the possibility of gun smuggling.

“We have the same problem with Indonesia, both countries have very wide coastlines,” he told the Manila Bulletin.

Mayor noted the Indonesian officials had yet to submit any requests or reports to the Philippines police on the matter.

(Asian Correspondent)