28 May 2017•Update: 29 May 2017
By Hader Glang
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines
The number of Daesh-linked terrorists killed in ongoing military offensives in Malawi City has reached 41, the military said Sunday.
Citing a report from the Philippine Army's 1st Infantry Division, Capt. Jo-Ann Petinglay, of the Western Mindanao Command, confirmed the death toll of Maute members.
Petinglay said that there were also casualties on the government side and that the clashes continued on the sixth day after the Maute group attacked Marawi City.
Policemen backed up by local government units and volunteers led the retrieval of dead bodies of Maute members in combat zones, according to Petinglay.
"They retrieved the bodies of the enemies, with their high-powered firearms and ammunition," the Army spokeswoman said.
She added dozens of troops were wounded in the ongoing clashes.
The troops are conducting surgical operations to clear Marawi of Maute members, who launched an attack in the city last Tuesday, which prompted President Rodrigo Duterte to declare martial law in the whole island of Mindanao.
Meanwhile, an executive official of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao expressed concerns over the effect of martial law and the crisis on the Muslims displaced by the ongoing war.
Atty. Laisa Alamia, executive secretary, said that fleeing Muslims villagers in Marawi City would find it hard to observe Ramadan, especially the fasting part of the traditional religious season.
The ARMM, through its Humanitarian and Emergency Action Response Team, said that 90 percent of the residents in Marawi City have been and that over a thousand have remained trapped in their houses.
