Military says 31 Maute Group members killed as Marawi clearing proceeds

May 26, 2017

The death toll because of the ongoing military operation against the terrorist group in Marawi City has reached to 44, 31 of which were from the Maute Group members and some of them could be foreigners. Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman, said 18 more Maute Group member were killed during  Thursday’s operation. “We received certain information that among those 31 killed, 12 were named and it is possible that half of these are foreigners but we still have to validate these,” he said. “As of 12 midnight last night, I am glad to report to you that we have been able to reach parts of the city which have been held by some of these terrorist elements the past few days,” Padilla added. He said fatalities on the government side rose to 13, with 39 troops wounded. “Yesterday, we lost six more, and seven wounded, bringing the total number, as of 12 midnight last night to 11 members of the Armed Forces killed and two members of the PNP, one of whom was an officer who was assigned in the area, and who was brutally killed by way of beheading,” he said. Padilla said five high-powered firearms were recovered bringing the total number of recovered firearms to 11. He said the military is trying to clear Marawi City from the Maute terrorist group members. “Up to this moment, operations are ongoing. There are still firefights between our forces and those of the terrorists in certain parts of the city but the objective of our Armed Forces is to clear the city at the soonest time possible,” Padilla said. As of 8 am, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao government's Humanitarian Emergency Action and Response Team (ARMM-HEART) has recorded a total of 4,182 families or 20,914 individuals displaced because of the armed conflict in Marawi City. Myrna Jo Henry, information officer at the ARMM HEART, said most evacuees went to Iligan city while others reached parts of Lanao del Norte, Cagayan de Oro and Cotabato City. Lanao del Sur Vice Governor Mamintal Adiong Jr said in a TV interview that at least 80 percent of Marawi City have left the area. (Robina Asido/DMS)