Department of Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana has confirmed the deaths of top Marawi siege leaders following a military operation launched at early dawn Monday.
“They were able to get a testimony from a hostage that was able to escape. She was able to confirm the presence of Isnilon and Maute in that particular building, so that’s the building that we assaulted this morning, early this morning,” said Lorenzana.
During the said military operation, government troops were able to kill Isnilon Hapilon, the designated emir of the Islamic State (ISIS) in South East Asia, as well as Omar Maute, one of the leaders of the pro-ISIS Maute terror group.
Hapilon and Omar were among those who led the siege of Marawi City last May of this year.
The remains of the killed terrorists will undergo DNA testing.
Omar has a P5 million bounty on his head, while Hapilon has P10 million on his.
Meanwhile, the military has initially announced that Abdulla Maute, the brother of Omar, had already been killed in a previous operation.
The country’s Defense secretary believes ISIS has lost a foothold in Southeast Asia after the death of Hapilon.
“That will help eradicate them once and for all. They still have cells there. We believe that they still have cells in Basilan, Sulu, also in Central Mindanao, but we will also get them,” said Lorenzana.
However, he noted that the crisis in the city of Marawi is not totally over since Hapilon and Omar have remaining men in the area whom the military is still locating.
But he said the terrorists can move on only two hectares of land in the city.
“There is still another personality that they are trying to get, si Dr. Mahmud, the Malaysian. According to some reports, he is still hiding in one of the buildings there and that’s what they are trying to do now,” said the Defense secretary.
After the military neutralized the two terrorist leaders, military troops were also able to rescue 17 hostages.
Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella however, said the government will only announce the end of the Marawi war after these two conditions are met:
First, once government troops have ensured the remaining terrorists in the city are killed or captured. Second, is when they have cleared all the structures of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and other traps.
Abella noted that when the clashes end, the government will then intensify its rehabilitation efforts in the war-torn city. — Victor Cosare | UNTV News & Rescue
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