spot_img
27.6 C
Philippines
Friday, March 29, 2024

IS Mosul veterans fighting in Marawi

- Advertisement -

TEN Islamic State veterans of the fighting in Mosul, Iraq have been seen fighting alongside members of the Maute group in Marawi City, a military official said Monday.

In a TV interview with GMA-7, Western Mindanao Command chief Lt. Gen. Carlito Galvez said the 10 fighters, who looked Caucasian, were seen by civilians who were recently rescued from the war zone.

Mosul was the stronghold of the Islamic State in Iraq for almost a year, until Iraqi forces retook the city from the terrorists.

Galvez said the foreign fighters were “suicidal.”

The same report quoted military officials as saying that the government forces have retaken Abbas Hospital from the Maute terrorists.

- Advertisement -

Armed Forces chief Gen. Eduardo Año said the terrorists are now boxed into an area less than one square kilometer in Marawi City.

“So we’ll have one final push to really break their line and finally clear the whole area of Marawi,” Año said.

As of 7 p.m. Sunday, the military said 411 terrorists have beeen killed in the fighting, while 97 government soldiers have died. Some 45 civilians have also been killed.

Fighting broke out in Marawi City after government troops tried to arrest Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon and ISIS “emir” in Southeast Asia on May 23.

Map of Mindanao island in southern Philippines, locating Marawi, where clashes between islamist gunmen and government troops has left more than 500 dead since May 23.

Also on Tuesday, the Supreme Court ordered the trial of rebellion cases filed against members and supporters of the Maute group transferred from Cagayan de Oro to Taguig City.

In an administrative order dated June 27, but released only Tuesday, the Court also ordered the transfer of the accused from their current detention in Camp Evangelista in Cagayan de Oro to the Special Intensive Care Area inside Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City.

The Court also ordered the Taguig Regional Trial Court to “speedily act on all prosecutions and incidents arising from the violent incidents in Marawi City involving the Maute group.”

The Court said Camp Bagong Diwa was just a temporary detention facility as it ordered the Bureeau of Jail Management and Penology to expedite the relocation of the suspects to a suitable detention facility.

The Justice Department earlier asked the Court to designate special courts in Luzon or the Visayas to hear the cases due to the security threat in Mindanao, which remains under martial law.

But the Court designated the Cagayan de Oro Regional Trial Court to take on the cases from the Marawi courts.

The Justice department asked the Court to reconsider its decision, however, saying that there was a lack of proper detention facilities in Camp Evangelista. Through its latest order, the Court granted the department’s appeal. With PNA

- Advertisement -

LATEST NEWS

Popular Articles