Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 3) — Government troops have rescued 181 civilians trapped in the conflict between Maute-ISIS fighters and government troops in Marawi City, the military said Saturday.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, in a press briefing in Marawi City, now refers to the terror group as “Maute-ISIS” and said its members “occupied some mosques.”
He said this was one of the problems that make it hard for his government troops to defeat the terrorists. “You know it’s difficult to bomb these mosques,” Lorenzana said.
The number of civilians saved should have been higher but unfortunately, one of the those being rescued was killed by a Maute-ISIS sniper, according to military and defense officials.
“The rescued residents would have been 182 if not for that incident,” Armed Forces of the Philippines Spokesman BGen. Restituto Padilla told CNN Philippines.
He said the Maute-ISIS terror group, whose clashes with the military in Marawi City prompted President Rodrigo Duterte to declare martial law in the entire Mindanao region on May 23, has been endangering civilians’ lives.
“There is clear evidence that they have been using innocent lives as shields. They also used places of worship as havens,” Padilla said.
The crisis in Marawi, which entered its 12th day on Saturday, may last longer than expected, but the military is determined to put an end to terror threat as soon as possible, Lorenzana added.
He said around 250 terrorists are still in Marawi.
As of Saturday, 120 Maute members and 38 soldiers were killed in Marawi, the military said. A total of 181 civilians have been rescued, but the military is unable to determine the exact number of civilians trapped in Marawi.
Officials said government forces are enforcing tight security measures in their rescue operations to ensure the safety of all civilians.
The Maute have pledged allegiance to ISIS which seeks to establish a caliphate in the Philippines, although the ISIS has yet to officially acknowledge them.
Lorenzana earlier said eight foreign fighters, suspected to be members of ISIS, have been killed in Marawi.
