GOVERNMENT forces rescued 17 more civilian captives Wednesday from the battle zone in Marawi City despite heavy resistance from the remnants of the Maute group terrorists who had overrun the city in May.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the rescued captives were made up of nine males and eight females whose ages range from 18 to 75.
“The details of the rescue are confidential because efforts to rescue the remaining hostages are still ongoing,” he said.
Since the Marawi siege began May 23, it has been unclear how many civilians had been taken hostage by the Maute terrorists. In recent accounts before the latest rescue, the military placed the number at 43. Wednesday’s rescue would leave 26 more.
Since the siege began, 753 terrorists, 155 soldiers and 47 civilians have been killed. More than 790 firearms have been taken back by the military.
Fighting is now confined to five to seven hectares where about 40 terrorists are still holed up.
Col. Edgard Arevalo, head of the Armed Forces Public Affairs Office, said he was optimistic that the fighting would soon be over.
“We are incessant, unceasing in our conduct of operations. So we just need a little more time,” Arevalo said in Filipino.