Snipers make rescue of trapped civilians, wounded soldiers difficult

MARAWI, Lanao del Sur - Snipers of the Maute group were making it difficult for government forces from rescuing wounded soldiers and trapped civilians in this southern city on Sunday, as fighting between state forces and local terrorists entered the sixth day. 

Authorities said around 17 non-combatants were reportedly stranded in a building in the downtown area after they sought shelter from the government's surgical airstrikes against the extremists.

 The building's fourth and fifth floors reportedly collapsed due to the airstrikes, trapping the civilians on the second floor.

ABS-CBN sources, meanwhile, said several wounded soldiers were also trapped in the city center.

Soldiers and elite policemen from the Special Action Forces have made several attempts to rescue their injured comrades and the civilians.

Snipers, however, have opened fire at the state troops, forcing them to retreat.

VIOLENCE MARS RAMADAN 

The military on Saturday said it will sustain the airstrikes to flush out Maute fighters. 

The offensives have damaged or destroyed at least 4 houses, including the residence of Lanao del Sur Rep. Jun Papandayan. 

The fighting has also made it difficult for Marawi residents to observe Ramadan, the holiest month in Islam, as many continued fleeing to safer ground or grappled with difficult conditions in evacuation centers. 

At least 31 suspected terrorists have been killed in clashes since Tuesday, 6 of whom may be fighters from Malaysia and Indonesia, Armed Forces spokesperson Restituto Padilla earlier said.

The government side, meanwhile, has suffered 13 deaths, 11 soldiers and two policemen. There has yet to be a confirmed count on civilian deaths, but nine people were found slain allegedly by the Maute group on Tuesday.

The pandemonium in Marawi erupted last Tuesday after a failed attempt to arrest Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon, the suspected leader of the Islamic State terror group in Southeast Asia. -- report from Ron Gagalac, ABS-CBN News

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Military hopes to defeat terrorists in Marawi City in 3 days

MANILA – Government forces will step up efforts to repel terrorist groups from Marawi City and hope to prevail in three days, the military said Saturday.

This as government continued bomb runs to flush out members of the Maute and Abu Sayyaf groups, who have been engaged in clashes with government troops since Tuesday.

In a press briefing, Western Mindanao Command chief Major General Carlito Galvez Jr. said local government officials and government troops would do their part to gain peace in Marawi City.

“I assure the public that, with the help of our governor, and local government units, rest assured that the military will do their part…Mamadaliin po namin ang normalcy, [so that residents can] go back in time for Ramadan…Hopefully tingnan natin, within three days we can [clear the city],” he told reporters in a briefing in Marawi City.

Local officials said only about 10 percent of Marawi City’s more than 200,000 residents remained in the conflict-stricken area.

Most evacuated when the firefights began, and others fled when the Armed Forces initiated its strategic airstrikes.


Those who plan to remain in the city until the end of hostilities should stay away from engagement areas and lock down their houses, the government said.

Authorities are closely guarding the Marawi City Hall as it is "the locality's symbol of sovereignty," officials said.

At least 31 suspected terrorists have been killed in clashes since Tuesday, six of whom were believed to be fighters from Malaysia and Indonesia, Armed Forces spokesperson Restituto Padilla earlier said.

At least 11 soldiers and two police officers have meanwhile been killed. Government has yet to release a confirmed count on civilian deaths as of this posting, but nine hostages were known to have been slain by the Maute group on Tuesday. 

Their bodies were found in Marawi City on Saturday as the fighting entered the fifth day. 

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Trudeau condemns Abu Sayyaf murder of Canadian

ALBERTA - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned on Monday the execution of a Canadian hostage by Abu Sayyaf militants in the Philippines, calling it "an act of cold-blooded murder."

John Ridsdel, 68, a former mining executive, was captured by Islamist militants along with three other people in September 2015 while on vacation on a Philippine island.

The Philippine army said a severed head was found on a remote island on Monday, five hours after the expiry of a ransom deadline set by militants who had threatened to execute one of four captives.

"Canada condemns without reservation the brutality of the hostage-takers and this unnecessary death. This was an act of cold-blooded murder and responsibility rests squarely with the terrorist group who took him hostage," Trudeau told reporters on the sidelines of a cabinet meeting.

"The government of Canada is committed to working with the government of the Philippines and international partners to pursue those responsible for this heinous act."

Trudeau declined to respond when asked whether the Canadian government had tried to negotiate with the captors or pay a ransom, or whether it was trying to secure the release of the other Canadian being held, Robert Hall.

The captives included Ridsdel and Hall, along with one Norwegian man and a Filipino woman, who had appealed in a video for their families and governments to secure their release.

Residents found the head in the center of Jolo town. An army spokesman said two men on a motorcycle were seen dropping a plastic bag containing the severed head.

A Philippine army spokesman said al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf militants had threatened to behead one of four captives on Monday if the 300 million pesos ($6.4 million) ransom for each of them was not paid by 3 p.m. local time.

The initial demand was one billion pesos each for the detainees, who were taken hostage at an upscale resort on Samal Island on Sept. 21.

Abu Sayyaf is a small but brutal militant group known for beheading, kidnapping, bombing and extortion in the south of the mainly Catholic country.

It decapitated a hostage from Malaysia in November last year on the same day that country's prime minister arrived in Manila for an international summit. Philippine President Benigno Aquino ordered troops to intensify action against the militants.

Security is precarious in the southern Philippines, despite a 2014 peace pact between the government and the largest Muslim rebel group that ended 45 years of conflict.

Abu Sayyaf is also holding other foreigners, including one from the Netherlands, one from Japan, four Malaysians and 14 Indonesian tugboat crew.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com