The military on Monday said it was close to retaking Marawi City from the Maute group, as helicopters unleashed more rockets on positions held by the terrorists who had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) jihadi group in Iraq and Syria.
The conclusion of the military operation included a search for Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon, who remained in Marawi, Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla, spokesperson for the Armed Forces of the Philippines, told reporters in Malacañang on the seventh day of the crisis.
Padilla said the military was committed to ending the operation as quickly as possible. “If we could finish this in one month, then … we end martial law right there and then,” he said.
President Duterte declared martial law in all of Mindanao following the attack on Marawi by the Maute group on Tuesday. The declaration is for 60 days unless revoked or extended by Congress.
Finished in 60 days
Padilla said the military hoped to finish the operation within 60 days.
Ground commanders have given assurance “that the end is near,” he said.
About 100 people have died in the violence, including 61 terrorists and 19 civilians, although authorities are still trying to assess the scope of the bloodshed.
The military was in “full control” of Marawi and Padilla said that meant troops controlled “who comes in and who comes out, who moves around and who doesn’t.”
There are “pockets of resistance” but troops have isolated these, Padilla said.
As of Monday, he said, 40 to 50 Maute terrorists remained in the city, possibly aided by some of the 100 prisoners who escaped from the city jail that they torched on Tuesday.
But the exact strength of the terrorists is unknown, as some “sympathetic elements” may have joined them, Padilla said.
He confirmed that the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) had been providing support to the Maute group and had “tried to cause diversionary action” in the areas where the terrorists were holed up.
No foreign funding
Padilla said there was no clear evidence that the Maute group had foreign funding, although there had been findings that money had been transferred to the group.
He said the military was investigating possible foreign patrons of the group following the arrest in the country of Kuwaiti and Syrian nationals who were said to have links with IS.
The violence started on Tuesday when the terrorists ambushed government troops who were moving in to raid the hideout of Hapilon in the city.
Asked about the whereabouts of Hapilon, Padilla said the military had information that the Abu Sayyaf leader was still in Marawi.
“And this could be the reason why the group is intensely fighting in some areas,” Padilla said.
“It’s in the interest of the country and that of the people of Marawi that we get him,” he added.
Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said the objectives of the military operation were to clear Marawi of terrorists, rescue trapped residents and recover casualties.
He said law and order must be restored in Marawi and “remnants of resistance” overcome for martial law to be lifted in Mindanao.
“In the absence of any more resistance, there is no reason to have our presence there but just to keep the security and we will transfer the control of the city to our civil authorities,” Padilla said.
In recent days, the terrorists have managed to fend off attack helicopters, armored vehicles and scores of soldiers.
The Maute group’s ability to fight off the military for so long will add to fears that IS’s radical ideology is spreading in the southern Philippines, which could become a haven for militants from Indonesia, Malaysia and beyond.
Attracting IS attention
The government believes the Maute group carried out the assault on Marawi before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan to capture the attention of IS and earn recognition as the Mideastern terror network’s Southeast Asian affiliate.
Padilla said the military had rescued 390 residents, who were being subjected to “some examination of sorts to ensure they are not part of the group that has been waging war here and creating trouble.”
Thousands of residents have fled Marawi City, pouring into Iligan City, 38 kilometers away, where the authorities have tightened security over fears that terrorists have sneaked out of Marawi by blending in with civilians.
“We don’t want what’s happening in Marawi to spill over in Iligan,” said Col. Alex Aduca, chief of the Army’s 4th Mechanized Infantry Battalion.
No lockdown
Police denied reports that Iligan had been put on lockdown, saying in a Facebook post that only containment action was being implemented through checkpoints.
Some troops tried to eliminate Maute snipers on Monday as others guarded deserted streets, taken back block by block.
Helicopters circled the lakeside city and smoke poured out of some buildings. Artillery explosions echoed.
Though most people have left, thousands are stranded, worried they could be intercepted by militants at checkpoints on routes out of the city.
There were still bodies of civilians in Marawi and residents urged the military to halt airstrikes, said Zia Alonto Adiong, a politician involved in evacuation efforts.
“The anticipation of death is worse than death itself,” Adiong said in a television interview. “We appeal to our military forces to do a different approach.”
The military said airstrikes were taken on “known and verified enemy positions.”
“We are using precision ammunition in our surgical airstrikes,” said another Army spokesperson, Col. Edgard Arevalo. “We have highly skilled and trained pilots delivering the payload.” —WITH REPORTS FROM JEOFFREY MAITEM, RYAN D. ROSAURO, JIGGER J. JERUSALEM, THE WIRES