Bombs, automatic gunfire mark 1st month of Marawi fighting

Thick, black smoke rises following airstrikes by military planes in Marawi City on Saturday. INQUIRER FILE / JEOFFREY MAITEM

MARAWI CITY – Fighting between soldiers and Maute gunmen continued Thursday, exactly a month since the siege of the city started.

Gunfire from automatic rifles and machine guns – along with the occasional explosions from artillery fire – reverberated as thick smoke billowed following air strikes conducted by the military.

There had been no reports of fresh casualties as of yet but Lt. Col. Jo-ar Herrera, spokesperson of the Army’s 1st Infantry Division, said the extremists had suffered heavy casualties during the past 30 days.

The military also lost 66 soldiers and over 400 others had been wounded. CBB