A Philippine military official says government forces are fighting the last batch of about 30 pro-Islamic State group militants who are surrounded in just one building with all their hostages gone as the nearly five-month siege nears its end in southern Marawi City.
Col. Romeo Brawner says troops are aiming to end the crisis before midnight last night, adding the remaining gunmen, who include some foreign militants, have the option of surrendering or they can either be captured or killed.
Brawner says a gradual withdrawal of military forces is continuing with the easing of the crisis, which has left at least 1,131 people dead, including 919 militants and 165 soldiers and policemen.
He says troops continue to ask the gunmen to surrender although most are determined to die fighting.
Brawner said there are no more hostages by the Maute Group as the remaining 20 have been rescued by government forces.
“We believe wala nang remaining hostages. Iyun na po iyung mga na-rescue, iyung mga na-rescue natin na hostages na iyun because we exhausted all means to rescue the remaining hostages,” Brawner said. “Iyun nga po iyung latest na na-rescue was 20. Iyun na last natin 20,” he added.
Brawner said some of those who also came out with the hostages are currently being processed by government troops to determine their true identity.
Brawner said they believe that those who are inside the remaining building include their wives.
“That singular building they have chosen to stay with their husbands. May mga babae pa po sa building na yun at ito po yung mga asawa ng mga Maute ISIS and we believe that they really chose to stay with their husbands,” Brawner said.
“At this point we gave them all the chances to surrender. We gave them all the chances to come out together with the hostages and in fact some of them did,” he said.
Brawner said no deadline was given but Armed Forces Western Mindanao Command chief Lt. Gen. Carlito Galvez believes that hostilities will end before midnight last night.
“Wala pa hong deadline pero iyun nga po sabi ni Gen. Galvez kahapon na maaring matapos ngayong araw na to,” Brawner said.
Government troops showed they deserve President Duterte’s promised 100 percent salary hike for retaking Marawi, Davao City Rep. Karlo Nograles said yesterday.
“Our men and women in uniform proved in the battle of Marawi that they deserve this salary hike. They managed to contain the threat posed by Maute terrorists within the city, neutralize its keys leaders, and retake the city,” said Nograles, chairperson of the House Committee on Appropriations. (AP, Francis T. Wakefield, and Ellson Quismorio)
