Article

2017-08-08 Southeast Asia

Philippine military: Marawi terror leaders still alive

[Reuters] Despite heavy air and artillery assaults on identified terrorist positions, it is likely that leaders of the ISIS-inspired Maute and Abu Sayyaf groups are still alive, said Philippine military officials. General Restituto Padilla said, "We have received reports that terror leaders Isnilon Hapilon, Abdullah Maute and Omar Maute are still alive and they are still in Marawi City."

The Philippine government offered a $200,000 reward to anyone who could provide information leading to the arrest of Hapilon. Moreover, a reward of $100,000 is offered to anyone who can provide information about the current location of either Abdullah and Omar Maute.

Thousands of Philippine soldiers were deployed in Marawi City to battle heavily armed 700 Maute and Abu Sayyaf militants on May 23 and the battle has been going on since then. The military said that after fierce fighting for over three months only a hundred of them, occupying two villages, remain.

Meanwhile, last Sunday, six bombs exploded in Marantao, a municipality adjacent to Marawi City following which a investigation was ordered. The blast came as a shock because it happened outside of the battle zone.

One army unit claimed that the bombs were either planted or were fired from the terrorist camp. However, according to General Padilla, the incident is still being investigated.

With the Marawi battle entering its 78th day, it is reported that 690 terrorists and 122 security personnel have been killed.

Posted by ryuge 2017-08-08 00:00|| || Front Page|| [11136 views ] Top
File under: Islamic State

#1 Related News...

The Pentagon is considering a plan that allows the U.S. military to conduct airstrikes on ISIS in the Philippines, two defense officials told NBC News.

The authority to strike ISIS targets as part of collective self-defense could be granted as part of an official military operation that may be named as early as Tuesday, said the officials. The strikes would likely be conducted by armed drones.

If approved, the U.S. military would be able to conduct strikes against ISIS targets in the Philippines that could be a threat to allies in the region, which would include the Philippine forces battling ISIS on the ground in the country's southern islands.

Posted by Pappy 2017-08-08 07:49|| 2017-08-08 07:49|| Front Page Top

#2 ...mission creep.

Posted by Procopius2k 2017-08-08 13:51|| 2017-08-08 13:51|| Front Page Top

#3 Debatable.

Posted by Pappy 2017-08-08 19:45|| 2017-08-08 19:45|| Front Page Top

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