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| Photo from 1st Infantry (Tabak) Division, PA |
By
Jong Cadion
PAGADIAN
CITY, Zamboanga del Sur (June 22, 2017) - After the series of arrests of
alleged members of Maute terrorist group including the parents of Maute
brothers who led the attacks in Marawi City, hopeless terrorist members have
chosen to abandon their firearms and blend in with civilian evacuees who are
escaping from ground zero, military official said.
Lt.
Col. Jo-ar Herrera, Spokesperson of Joint Task Force Marawi said: “As their
bailiwick native land, the terrorists are knowledgeable of the terrain here in
Marawi City. They are also using that advantage to slip out of the area to
escape. But the authorities assure that the combined strength of the security
forces and other government agencies, these terrorists have nowhere to hide.”
IEDs
(Improvised Explosive Devices) are causing the clearing operations to take one
sure step at a time, according to Brig. Gen. Ramiro Manuel A Rey, Commander of
Task Force Ranao.
“The
Maute terrorists are pushed back in a corner due to the AFP’s continuous
effort. But they are using IEDs to block the government troops. They are also
using hostages as human shields and slaves from gaining grounds. Hostages were
even forced to place LPG tanks with fuel as IEDs against the AFP troops. The
cause of the fire eruptions inside ground zero was caused by LPG tanks strapped
with fuel and is detonated as troops continue to gain ground,” Brig. Gen. Rey
said.
According
to Lt. Col. Herrera, the number of enemies that are currently being engaged
dwindled to a little over a hundred. “According to the information we are
getting from the ground troops operating in the area, there are more or less
100 members of Maute terrorist group left after the 1 month battle here in
Marawi,” he said.
As
of Wednesday, June 21, 2017, the AFP counted a total of 268 Maute terrorists
killed and 271 recovered firearms. On the government side, 56 are killed in
action and 461 are wounded.
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