MARAWI CITY: Philippine troops were locked in an intense urban firefight on Sunday with the last remnants of a pro-IS alliance, as the army sought to declare an end to the country’s biggest internal security crisis in years.
An estimated 30 people, including militants and some of their family members, were battling to hold a fortified, two-storey building next to Marawi City’s vast Lake Lanao, and appeared ready to fight to the death, according to the deputy commander of the operation.
“There’s just one building and they’re inside,” Colonel Romeo Brawner told a news conference.
“We believe these are ones who decided to fight it out, because they believe that if they die there they will go to Heaven.”
Brawner said soldiers were using loudspeakers to urge them to surrender, and anticipated the gunfight could go on until midnight. They did not know how many people in the building were alive or dead, he said. — Reuters
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