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Duterte says IS battle in 'final stages'
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Military troops scour the site of a roadside blast in the village of Matampay in Marawi City, Southern Mindanao on November 29, 2016. Seven military bodyguards of President Rodrigo Duterte and two other soldiers were wounded on November 29 in an ambush by suspected Islamic militants on the eve of his planned visit to the southern Philippines, the military and president said. (AFP/Richel Umel)
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hilippine President Rodrigo Duterte said Wednesday a three-month battle against Islamic State group supporters occupying parts of a southern city was in its "final stages".
Duterte gave his assessment shortly after government troops secured a vital bridge in Marawi city, allowing them easier access into areas being held by the militants.
"We are in the final stages. So let us send immediately, even air-lift, the police," to Marawi, Duterte said in the capital Manila, about 800 kilometres (500 miles) to the north of the battle zone.
Pro-IS gunmen occupied parts of Marawi, the Islamic capital of the mainly Catholic Philippines on May 23, triggering a battle that the military says has left almost 800 people dead.
The fighting, which has included a US-backed air campaign against the militants, has destroyed large parts of Marawi.
Duterte and security analysts have said the militants carried out the assault in an effort to establish a Southeast Asian base for IS.
Duterte on Wednesday warned that, even with the Marawi battle over, the militants could still launch attacks elsewhere in the Philippines, particularly in the strife-torn south where the country's Muslim minority is based.
The southern regions of the Philippines have long been troubled by armed Muslim bands including separatist guerrillas and outlaws, some of whom have gravitated towards IS.
Duterte said other southern cities with large Muslim populations, including his hometown of Davao, were vulnerable. He said Manila might also be a target.
Duterte imposed martial law across the southern third of the Philippines immediately after the militants occupied parts of Marawi to combat the security threat.
Hours before Duterte spoke, soldiers in Marawi secured the Mapandi bridge, a vital supply route which had once been menaced by militant snipers and rocket-propelled grenades.
