MARAWI CITY—Authorities have recovered 37 human remains, including those of two infants estimated to be 2 months and 7 months old, in one of the former battlefields in Marawi City.
Senior Supt. Mary Leocyl Mag-abo, chief of the Scene of the Crime Operatives based in Iligan City, told the Inquirer that the bodies of four women were among those recovered on Wednesday near buildings where the pro-Islamic State (IS) gunmen made their last stand.
Mag-abo said all the bodies were in an advanced state of decomposition, indicating deaths had occurred in recent weeks.
She said the identities of the remains and how these individuals had died could not yet be established.
“We are not certain also if the children and the women killed were immediate family members of the IS-linked Maute terrorist group or if they were among the hostages,” she said.
The presence of hostages and family members of the IS fighters inside the battle zone prevented troops from launching more fierce attacks against the militants, slowing down the retaking of the city, according to the military.
Danny Capin, the owner of a funeral home in Iligan who has been helping manage the recovered remains, said the 37 collected on Wednesday was the largest number of remains retrieved in a single day so far this month.
75 remains recovered
This brought to 75 the total number of human remains—including skeletons—recovered since Monday, he said.
He said all the cadavers were brought to the Maqbara public cemetery where they were examined by two forensic experts.
“DNA extraction for future identification of the remains were also being performed at the cemetery,” Capin said.
Capin said the retrieval of human remains would continue and they expected to find more bodies inside the main battle area.
He said the remains of 238 individuals, mostly suspected IS gunmen, were retrieved from May 23 to Nov. 8.
Zia Alonto Adiong, spokesperson for the Lanao del Sur crisis management committee, said authorities were expected to recover “600-700 remains” following the military’s report that 920 militants had been killed since the gun battles erupted on May 23.
“The expected number was for Maute fighters alone,” Adiong added.
The retrieval operations involved various government agencies and nongovernmental groups such as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
ICRC assistance
“We recognized the assistance provided by the International Committee of the Red Cross such as equipment and facilities for forensic examination,” Mag-abo said.
She said the ICRC also provided body bags, masks, suits, and boots and trained members of the recovery teams on proper retrieval procedures.
Col. Romeo Brawner Jr., the deputy commander of the Joint Task Force Ranao, said the city should be cleared of human remains before the return of displaced residents.
However, Brawner said some areas remained off-limits to civilians and members of the retrieval team because the military had not rendered them safe from explosives and booby traps.
According to a recently captured Indonesian fighter, Mohammad Ilham Syahputra, some militants could still be inside the battle areas, he added.
Nine gunmen were killed during a fierce battle on Sunday, two weeks since the military declared a formal end to the war here.