Bodies of 17 civilians, five of them decapitated, were retrieved in Marawi City on Wednesday, June 28, according to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
The AFP Joint Task Force Marawi said in a statement that the bodies were discovered during a retrieval operation conducted by the Philippine National Police, Bureau of Fire Protection, and civilian volunteers.
The decapitated bodies found served as the first evidence that civilians trapped in Marawi have been decapitated.
“The recovered cadavers are believed to be among those civilians who were helplessly murdered by the Maute/ASG terrorists,” commander of Joint Task Force Marawi Brig. Gen. Joselito Bautista said.
Meanwhile, AFP spokesman Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla said on Wednesday that death toll on the Maute group has already reached 299.
Credit: Wikimedia
