35 militants now dead in south Philippines clashes
Almost 35 members of a
Daesh-linked group have been killed in two days of clashes between the Philippines
military and the Maute Group.
The
group -- believed to have around 200 members -- seized the building, a high
school and mosque Friday, and hung Daesh flags at some nearby buildings and
houses. Five months ago, they were flushed out of the area -- now abandoned by
many of the town's residents -- in a major military offensive.
Troops
are reported to have penetrated the town hall Monday morning and pulled down
the black flags.
They
then raised the Philippine flag and declared the town liberated.
Last
month, authorities arrested three Maute members accused of involvement in a September
bombing that left 15 people dead in southern Davao City -- President Rodrigo
Duterte’s hometown.
The
military has described the group as being linked to the Abu Sayyaf.
The
Abu Sayyaf is one of two larger militant groups in the south who have pledged
allegiance to Daesh, prompting fears during a stall of a peace process between
the government and the country’s one-time largest Moro rebel front that it
could make inroads in a region torn by decades of armed conflict.
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