20 soldiers wounded in clashes with Maute Group

ILIGAN CITY—At least 20 soldiers have been wounded in continuing clashes with members of a rebel group who had taken over Butig town in Lanao del Sur province, an Army offical said.

Col. Roseller Murillo, chief of the Army’s 103rd Infantry Brigade based in Marawi City, said government forces have pushed ground and air assaults against at least 300 members of the Maute group who occupied the abandoned town hall in Butig last week.

Murillo said the military continues to bomb known lairs of the group. No soldier had been reported as killed in clashes with the group since Thursday, he said.

Butig Mayor Dilanggalen Pansar said at least 90 percent of the town’s more than 16,000 residents had evacuated as clashes intensified. Most of them are living with their relatives in nearby towns and in Iligan City. Pansar said classes in the town had also been suspended.

The military, Murillo said, was verifying reports that 35 members of the group had been killed in aerial and ground attacks.

At noon Monday, three trucks loaded with Army soldiers were sent to Butig to augment those in combat.

The Maute group, composed of former Moro Islamic Liberation Front fighters, is led by brothers Omar and Abdullah Maute, who have reportedly pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) that is aiming to set up a similar state in Mindanao.

The group was also being eyed as behind the night market bombing in Davao City on Sept. 2 that left 15 people dead and 69 others wounded.

In Manila, Malacañang said President Duterte does not see the need to suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus in the wake of clashes between the military and the Maute group.

Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said the President “trusts the capability and competence” of Director General Ronald dela Rosa, chief of the Philippine National Police, in addressing the security concerns of the public.

“President Duterte finds no compelling reason to suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus at this point. As a strong advocate of the rule of law, he is fully aware of the limits of presidential powers,” Andanar said in a statement.

Given this, President Duterte believes any intervention at his level is unnecessary,” he said.

The Maute group was previously unheard of until it started kidnapping and killing people in Lanao del Sur, including the beheading of two of its captives in April.

It also launched bomb attacks against military camps in the province.

In February, soldiers battled the Maute group for days in Butig, which led to the killing of several of its leaders.

However, the group launched a series of retaliatory attacks. On Aug. 27, its members assaulted the Lanao del Sur provincial jail and freed 23 inmates, including eight of its members earlier arrested at a military checkpoint. —RICHEL V. UMEL AND MARLON RAMOS