13 Philippine marines killed in fighting with Islamic rebels
US military providing technical assistance in battle; Islamic State-affiliated group said using human shields and taking up positions in mosques
ILIGAN, Philippines — Thirteen Philippine marines were killed in fierce fighting with Muslim militants who have laid siege to southern Marawi city for nearly a month in the biggest single-day loss for government forces, the military said Saturday.
The marines were conducting a house-to-house search for fighters allied with the Islamic State group who are still occupying parts of Marawi when the battle erupted Friday, said Lt. Col. Jo-ar Herrera, spokesman for the Philippine army’s 1st Infantry Division.
He said that about 30-40 gunmen used civilians as human shields, making it hard for troops to operate, and also positioned themselves in the city’s many mosques.
Forty other marines were wounded, he said.
As the fighting intensified, the US embassy in Manila said American forces were providing assistance to the Filipino troops, although it declined to give details for security reasons.
“At the request of the government of the Philippines, US special operations forces are assisting the (Philippine military) with ongoing operations in Marawi,” the embassy said in a statement.
Herrera confirmed the US help, adding that the special forces were not fighting, but “providing technical support”.
The government had earlier said that the unrest had left 20 civilians, 134 militants and 39 government troops dead. Hundreds of thousands of people have fled the city, parts of which were reduced to rubble by fighting and government airstrikes in an attempt to dislodge the rebels.
“This temporary setback has not diminished our resolve a bit,” said military spokesman Col. Edgard Arevalo. “It instead primed up our determination to continue our prudent advances to neutralize the enemy, save the innocent lives trapped in the fight, and set the conditions for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Marawi.”
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has declared martial law in the Mindanao region, the southern third of the Philippines and home to a decades-long Muslim separatist rebellion.
Copyright 2017 The Associated Press
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