Philippine President Duterte seems to have quietly accepted U.S. Special Forces to advise and assist the PI in the task of destroying a festering Islamic insurgency on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao.
He also said the Maute Group plotted to also attack Iligan City and kill as many people as they can.
ILIGAN, Philippines-Thirteen Philippine marines were killed in fierce fighting with Muslim militants who have laid siege to a southern city for almost three weeks in the biggest single-day loss for government forces, the military said Saturday.
The Pentagon, which has no permanent presence in the Philippines but for years has kept 50 to 100 special forces troops in the south of the country on rotational exercises, confirmed it was helping the Philippine military in Marawi. Gen. Restituto Padilla said.
The militants set fire to churches and other buildings as they entered the city, while ISIS' media wing, Amaq Agency, put out a statement announcing that "fighters of the Islamic State launch a wide-scale offensive on positions of Philippine troops in the city of Marawi".
The conflict has left 26 civilians, 58 soldiers and police and 202 militants dead according to the government.
"If the Philippines wins, Indonesia would get a spill-over effect from the retreating militants, but if the Philippines loses, Mindanao would be a strong regional IS base that threatens Indonesia among others", he said.
Washington said over the weekend that it was providing support to the armed forces of the Philippines to clear the militants from pockets of Marawi.
Eid-ul-Fitr celebrated in Maharashtra
Regardless of what is served at the meal, anyone present at the dinner who is breaking their fast means an iftar is being held. Bush bows his head during a prayer during an Iftar dinner with ambassadors and Muslim leaders on September 17, 2008.
Fighting erupted on May 23 after a bungled raid aimed at capturing Isnilon Hapilon, whom Daesh proclaimed as its "emir" of southeast Asia in 2016 after he pledged allegiance to the group.
At least 58 soldiers and police were killed in fighting along with at least 20 civilians, the military said, estimating that nearly 200 militants had been killed in the clashes.
Violence has persisted in Mindanao for weeks now, with government troops rallying against Maute rebels who have taken over the capital city of Lanao del Sur.
There were tearful scenes in Marawi on Tuesday morning after five Muslim policemen and five Christian construction workers sprinted about two kilometers (1.2 miles) from the militant-controlled areas to safety. We see the high-calibre weapons, high-powered weapons.
On Monday, the Justice Department asked the Department of the Interior and Local Government to allocate resources for the detention of members of the Maute terrorist group and their supporters.
An Associated Press journalist and photographer saw a U.S. Navy P3 Orion plane hovering in cloudy skies above Marawi on Friday.
The two countries are bound by a 1951 mutual defense treaty, though Duterte has tried to steer the Philippines away from United States influence since he became president previous year. "It does not involve any boots on the ground nor is there any direct participation in combat operations, a matter prohibited by law", he said.
The battle in Marawi was triggered when authorities tried to arrest Islamic State's designated leader of a self-styled caliphate in the predominantly Muslim southern Philippines, touching off some of the worst fighting in years.
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