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Philippine army captures key pro-IS base in Marawi
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Police special forces prepare to assault the hide-out of militants near the city hall in Marawi, in southern island of Mindanao on May 28, 2017. Islamist militants who have gone on a rampage in a southern Philippine city have killed 19 civilians including women and children, the military said on May 28, as fighting entered the sixth day.
(AFP/Ted Aljibe)
T
he Philippine military said Sunday it had captured the command centre of Islamic State group supporters who have besieged a southern city for nearly four months.
Security forces have engaged in ferocious street-to-street combat and launched airstrikes in their efforts to expel the fighters from Marawi, in a battle that has left 800 dead and raised fears that IS is looking to establish a Southeast Asian base in the Philippines.
The military said it had captured the militants' control centre in a deadly operation that began Saturday against a mosque and another building.
"This enormous (military) gain further weakened the terrorist group by denying them their erstwhile command and control hub," military chief General Eduardo Ano said in a statement.
"As follow up and clearing operations continue, we expect the enemy to yield more previously occupied positions, but not without a fight," he said. "We are ready for that."
Colonel Romeo Brawner, deputy commander of the task force battling the militants, said the military had encountered some of the heaviest resistance in recovering the mosque.
Its capture may be a sign that the prolonged fighting with the Maute militant group, whose leaders have pledged allegiance to IS, may be nearing a conclusion, he said.
"We believe we are close to the end. The area where the Maute terrorist group can move is shrinking. We noticed that their resistance is weakening," Brawner told AFP.
"They are retreating while we are assaulting but in the process of doing so, we are encountering many improvised explosive devices so we cannot just advance. We have to be very careful," he said.
One soldier was killed and seven others were wounded in the battle, he said.
Brawner said they had hoped to rescue numerous civilian hostages when they captured the mosque but they found no one.
In the once-bustling city, gunfire could still be heard ringing out in the distance as troops backed by armoured vehicles, pressed towards militant positions.
The rubble-strewn streets of Marawi were practically empty except for scores of heavily armed soldiers securing the area. Philippine aircraft and an American P-3 Orion spyplane flew above the city.
