Philippines Military: Battle İn Marawi Comes To A Close

By Roy Ramos ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (AA) – At least 30 determined militants including five foreigners, with no more hostages are holed up in the basement of a "well-fortified" building in the Philippines' besieged Marawi City, the military said Sunday. Following the death of top leaders Isnilon Hapilon and Omar Maute, officials believe that the militants face "leadership vaccum" in the battle zone. "At this point we don't know who really is the leader," Joint Task Force Ranao deputy commander Colonel Romeo Brawner said but also brought up the possibility that Malaysian terrorist Amin Bacu is still alive and could have taken over the leadership. Brawner said that the militants are no longer holding hostages and those women who remain in the building are wives of the terrorists. "We exhausted all means to rescue the remaining hostages and the latest number of hostages we rescued is 20. We believe that those who are inside that building have chosen to stay with their husbands," he added. Brawner said that among those who were rescued recently are wives of terrorists who came out with the hostages. "We gave them all the chances to surrender. We gave them all the chances to come out and in fact, some of them did," said Brawner. Those who surrendered will be treated as non-combatants, will undergo psycho-social briefing and other equal processes as well as the hostages. In an interview with a local radio station, military spokesperson Major General Restituto Padilla guaranteed that the crisis will not reach until next month. Aside from the building occupied by the terrorists, the military is still clearing five buildings in a half a hectare area of the city from unexploded improvised explosive devices. Despite the death of key terror leaders and the complete retaking of Marawi, Padilla said that martial law in Mindanao is needed until the end of the year. Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella earlier also said military rule is needed to fully flush out remnants of the terrorist groups in Mindanao. "The death of the ringleaders of the Marawi rebellion which include Omar Maute, Isnilon Hapilon, and Dr. Mahmud Ahmad does not automatically result in the lifting of martial law," said Abella. "There are remnants including networks supporting the Maute cause within Mindanao. The President is duty-bound not to compromise public safety," he added. President Rodrigo Duterte imposed martial law in Mindanao following the attack of Daesh-linked Abu Sayyaf and Maute groups in Marawi on May 23. As of Sunday, the Marawi siege has seen 1,131 deaths: 919 terrorists, 165 government troops and 47 civilians. Duterte's earlier declaration of the city's liberation signaled the start of the rehabilitation of the city. -