- Title: Marawi battle in Philippine leaves trail of destruction
- Date: 4th September 2017
- Summary: MARAWI CITY, PHILIPPINES (SEPTEMBER 4, 2017) (REUTERS) DAMAGED MAIN ROAD IN MAPANDI DISTRICT DAMAGED HOUSE DAMAGED ROOF HOUSES WITH BULLET HOLES / RUBBLE IN STREET WINDOW / BULLET HOLES ON WALL SOLDIERS STANDING NEAR BURNT CARS BURNT CARS SOLDIERS INSIDE DAMAGED HOUSE VARIOUS OF LARGE HOLE IN WALL DEBRIS IN STREET SEEN THROUGH WINDOW GRILLS DAMAGED BUILDING SEEN THROUGH WINDOW GRILLS VARIOUS OF DAMAGED FURNITURE AND ITEMS INSIDE ROOM (SOUNDBITE) (English) PHILIPPINE ARMED FORCES COLONEL, ROMEO BRAWNER JR., SAYING: "It was a slow process because the members of the Maute (Islamic State-linked militant group) terrorist group positioned themselves in very strategic areas. They had snipers positioned such that our troops who were passing through the bridge were cornered or were sort of sitting ducks, so it was a slow process. If you can see we had to drop bombs in the area to drive away the snipers of the terrorist group." VARIOUS OF ARMED SOLDIERS STANDING / DAMAGED BUILDINGS VARIOUS OF MILITARY TRUCKS DRIVING (SOUNDBITE) (Filipino) PHILIPPINE MARINES STAFF SERGEANT, ARMADO SABIO, SAYING: "This is a harder fight and this is the first time I experienced such a close battle, we're just fighting in adjacent buildings." SMOKE RISING FROM CITY / MINARET OF MOSQUE VARIOUS OF DAMAGED BUILDINGS AND DEBRIS
- Embargoed: 18th September 2017 15:15
- Keywords: Marawi City militants Islamic State rebels Mapandi soldiers damage
- Location: MARAWI CITY, PHILIPPINES
- City: MARAWI CITY, PHILIPPINES
- Country: Philippines
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Insurgencies
- Reuters ID: LVA0016X6LH6T
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Philippine troops and Islamic State-linked rebels in Marawi fought intense battles on Monday (September 4), with heavy gunfire and explosions ringing out across the picturesque, lakeside town, the heart of which has been devastated by near-daily government air strikes.
Ground forces were braced for higher casualties amid fierce fighting with the Maute militant group in Marawi City on the island of Mindanao, where the field of battle has shrunk to a small area in a commercial heart infested with snipers, and littered with booby traps.
Helicopters circled above to provide air cover for ground troops as fighting raged, with bursts of smoke rising above the skyline as bombs landed on rebel positions. The fighting was concentrated in an area around a mosque about a quarter of a square kilometer.
More than 800 people have been killed, most of them insurgents, since May 23 when the militants occupied large parts of the predominantly Muslim town. The fighting is the biggest security challenge in years for the mostly Catholic Philippines, even though it has a long history of Muslim separatist rebellion in Mindanao, an island of 22 million people that has been placed under martial law until the end of the year. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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