A few Maute terrorists who fled in the battle in the southern town of Marawi has infiltrated neighboring Iligan City, a neighborhood official stated Thursday.
Citing intelligence reviews, Iligan Vice Mayor Jemar Vera Cruz said the extremists were unarmed and have likely mixed with civilians who sought safety in Iligan in droves.
“Itong pumasok, they are only a handful. They are not that many. Ang pangamba lang namin ay baka mayroon silang arms na embedded na rito sa Iligan,” Cruz told radio DZMM.
(The Maute members who have entered Iligan were only a handful, they’re not that many. Our only worry is that they may have weapons that are currently embedded here.)
Some 191,000 Marawi residents passed through Iligan City to flee in the hundreds of extremists who stormed their hometown last May 23.
Of this number, 31,000 individuals chose to stay in Iligan evacuation facilities, Cruz stated.
Security forces, the vice mayor added, have been deployed in areas exactly where the terrorists may retrieve weapons from their sympathizers.
“I believe, with the cooperation of everyone sa Iligan, hindi sila makagawa ng (they won’t have the ability to mount) terroristic acts sa Iligan,” he said.
The fight for Marawi marked its twenty fourth working day on Thursday without any sign that it would end any time quickly.
“There will be no much more deadlines,” said Armed Forces spokesperson Restituo Padilla, referring to a guarantee by the army to distinct the city by June 12, the country’s independence working day.
“It may consider some time,” he additional.
The seizure of Marawi has alarmed Southeast Asian nations which fear Islamic State – which is around the back again foot in Iraq and Syria – is trying to set up a stronghold on Mindanao island that could threaten their region.
About 100 militants are within the besieged region, the military has said. You will find also an approximated 300 to 600 civilians trapped or being held hostage within the city.
Islamic State’s information agency, Amaq, stated its fighters controlled two-thirds of the city.
The Philippines continues to be fighting twin insurgencies from Maoist-led rebels and Muslim separatists in the south for nearly fifty years. Critics say military action is not enough to deliver peace to some region which has long endured from political neglect and poverty.
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