A casino and resort in Manila, Philippines was attacked by a gunman (or possible multiple gunmen) killing 34. It’s unclear at this time how many of the victims were shot and how many people actually suffocated from the smoke from the tables that were set ablaze by the “soldiers of the caliphate”.

Philippine National Police chief Ronald dela Rosa told Manila media “This is not an act of terror. There was no element of violence or threat”.

Those reports are now being contradicted  by several sources, including the Islamic State’s online mouthpiece Amaq News Agency. The first to break the story was the non-governmental counter-terrorism monitoring organization SITEIntelGroup who said the Islamic State had taken credit for the attack. SITE is now reporting to have photos from inside the casino and it appears to be multiple attackers.

3) 2nd claim, 8h ago, named attacker "AbuKhair alLuzonee"who aimed to burn the casino inside, as it's the"main cause of HARAM in the region" pic.twitter.com/dRn1sxEmyn

— Rita Katz (@Rita_Katz) June 2, 2017

George Washington University Research Fellow Amarnath Amarasingam reported at 10:25 pm last night that the the Islamic State had released a name, Abu Khair al Luzonee.

Pro-ISIS Telegram account supposedly out of the Philippines releases name of suspected attacker in #Manila today. pic.twitter.com/eN03V76tVO

— Amarnath Amarasingam (@AmarAmarasingam) June 2, 2017

It was confirmed this morning by The New Times’s Rukmini Callimchi, who has become the definitive voice in confirming attacks as they have increased globally since the rise of the Islamic State.

8. The Nashir claim names the alleged attacker as having the kunya Abu al-Khair al-Arkhabili pic.twitter.com/a80bb9fmWn

— Rukmini Callimachi (@rcallimachi) June 2, 2017

Callimachi notes that Rumiyah, another Islamist how-to publication, had encouraged arson as a tactic for terror in its latest publication and that the translated Arabic references “soldiers” corroborating the reports of multiple attackers.

6. See their description below in ISIS' magazine Rumiyah. (Note: We don't know if the attack in Manila was terror. Police say it wasn't). pic.twitter.com/TMMKAX4Bcz

— Rukmini Callimachi (@rcallimachi) June 2, 2017

Not much can be agreed upon by experts when it comes to the Islamic State except for the fact that its defeat in Syria will trigger more attacks on Western civilians. With the American-backed Syrian Democratic Forces a mere 3 kilometers away from the de facto capital of the caliphate in Raqqa, Syria and the events of the past seven days in the Philippines would all lead one to believe this theory very much holds water.

Redstate will continue to monitor and update these bizarre events as they unfold.