AT LEAST eight foreign fighters, suspected to be members of the Islamic State, were killed fighting side by side with local extremists in Marawi City, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said Thursday.
Among those killed were two from Saudi Arabia, two from Malaysia, two from Indonesia, one from Yemen and one from Chechnya (Russia), the Defense chief said.
“The report we got from the civilians from Marawi is they saw a lot of foreign-looking fighters,” Lorenzana told Palace reporters.
“We don’t have any record of them coming through the proper channel, through the airports…. Maybe they’re coming from Indonesia or from Malaysia, Sabah,” he added.
Lorenzana said it was Mindanao Development Authority Secretary Datu Abul Khayr Dangcal Alonto who informed him of the identities of the foreigners.
Lorenzana said 95 terrorists have been killed in the clashes, with 33 already identified.
“There could be more that we killed that we have not identified,” he added.
Some 50 to 100 militants remained holed up in Marawi City and a group of 400 Marines was on its way to neutralize the remnants, Lorenzana said.
The Defense chief said terrorists were getting funding from here and abroad.
“Isnilon particularly, we heard from our intelligence, has received several million dollars worth of funds from the Middle East,” he added.
He also corroborated President Rodrigo Duterte’s claim that Police Supt. Maria Cristina Nobleza, who was arrested after her links to the Abu Sayyaf were revealed, received money from terrorists and drug lords alike.
In a general order signed May 30, Duterte ordered the miltary to suppress all rebel activities and respect the Constitution after he declared martial law in Mindanao.
He also told government agencies to ensure the safety and welfare of persons displaced by the fighting, and to recognize the role of the media.
Military rule in Mindanao does not suspend the operation of the Constitution and the functioning of civil courts or legislative assemblies, Duterte said.
But the order suspended the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus, which will allow state forces to arrest anyone caught in the act of rebellion or invasion.
Anyone arrested, however, must be charged within three days or be released.
He said the Commission on Human Rights was mandated to “zealously exercise its mandate under the 1987 Constitution, and to aid the executive in ensuring the continued protection of the constitutional and human rights of all citizens.”