Government troops have killed at least 202 members of the Maute terror group and freed over 90 barangays in Marawi City since the firefights began on May 23.
In an interview with ABS-CBN, Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla, spokesperson of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, said the Maute fighters are now holed up in only four barangays in Marawi.
“Out of the 96 barangays we started this incident, there are only four barangays that remain as problematic areas, and these barangays are not the whole barangays anymore,” Padilla said.
According to the Lieutenant Colonel Jo-Ar Herrera, spokesperson of the Philippine Army’s 1st Infantry Division, said there are about 150 to 200 remaining Maute members are continuing to engage in firefights against the military.
The Philippine News Agency said Maute suffer heavy losses as the military used OV-10 bombers to conduct airstrikes in areas occupied by the terrorists, particularly in the village of Bangolo and Lilod Madaya.
The aerial assaults also helped the military rescue more than a thousand civilians who were trapped inside the conflict zone, PNA reported.
PNA said the government has now rescued a total of 1,628 civilians.
The government side has lost at least 58 soldiers and policemen, while 300 to 500 residents remained trapped inside the war zone, local reports showed.
Photo Credit: SunStar
