AFP chief of staff Gen. Eduardo Año INQUIRER file photo / Joseph Vidal
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is giving the remaining terrorists in Marawi the chance to surrender “if they want to get out of the city alive.”
This development came after the military said there is still a small number of Maute terrorists holed up in Marawi City.
“We will make sure na makuha natin ang remaining Maute-ISIS na ito. Kami rin ay nananawagan na dapat mag surrender na sila (We will make sure we’ll get the remaining Maute-ISIS. We are calling them out to surrender). The only way to get out alive is to surrender,” AFP chief Gen. Eduardo Año said in an interview with Radyo 5 on Wednesday.
Military operations continue in the city even after President Rodrigo Duterte declared the liberation of Marawi from terrorist influence.
“May mga stragglers pa naiwan for manhunt. Meron pang mga kailangan mga 18 hostages na kailangan mai-rescue (There are still stragglers remaining and the subject of manhunt. There are also around 18 hostages that needed to be rescued),” the AFP chief said.
But the fighting is no longer as dangerous as before because the remaining fighters are “struggling for survival.”
Año said the fighting is now contained in less than two hectares and a few more structures that need to be cleared.
“Maliit na lang ang lugar na ito. Kung tutuusin nga ay law enforcement matter (This is just a small area. In fact this has been reduced to a law enforcement matter),” he said.
The military estimates that there are still about 30 terrorists in Marawi, including six to eight foreigners.
President Rodrigo Duterte declared the liberation of Marawi City on Tuesday after nearly five months of fighting between government forces and ISIS-linked terrorists.
READ: Marawi ‘liberated’ from terrorists but battle drags on
The top leaders of the siege, Isnilon Hapilon and Omar Maute, were killed by government troops on Monday. /jpv
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