(Eagle News) — The government on Friday confirmed that there were foreign terrorists fighting state troopers in Marawi, as the death toll rose to 44 — 13 from the government, and 31 terrorists— since the crisis started there.
Solicitor General Jose Calida said in a press conference that the foreign fighters — Malaysians, Indonesians, Singaporeans and others — “heeded the call of ISIS to go to the Philippines,” making the situation in the area “bothersome.”
“Yes (there are foreign terrorists in Marawi)…Before, it was just a local terrorist group. But now there is an ideology..of ISIS. And (Maute) have pledged allegiance to the flag of ISIS. They want to make Mindanao as part of a caliphate,” he said.
Brig. General Restituto Padilla, Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesperson, said there have been “certain foreign elements in the country for a very long time.”
He said many of these foreign combatants had bomb-making skills.
In the case of Marawi, he said, so far, they were in the process of confirming if among those government troops killed in operations that began on Tuesday were foreign combatants.
Since Tuesday, he said 31 terrorists have been killed, and 11 firearms recovered.
Padilla said the report they received was that of the 31, 12 have been identified, and about “half of this group” were foreign terrorists–Malaysians, Indonesians and one other nationality.
He said from the government side, on Thursday, six were killed, and seven wounded.
Since Tuesday then, a total of 13 soldiers and two policemen–one an official who was decapitated—-have lost their lives.
Thirty-nine government security forces have been wounded since the Marawi clashes began.
“Operations are still ongoing, and there are still firefights in certain parts of the city,” he said.
He said as of 12 midnight, government troops have been able to reach parts of the city that were held by the “lawless elements.”
Sixteen civilians who were trapped on Thursday, he said, were also rescued and brought to safety.
“We are taking every precaution to avoid collateral damage, damage to property,” he said.
Trust in the Armed Forces
Padilla appealed for the public to trust the military, noting that their hope was to “protect the state and every citizen of this country.”
He said they would do this “even at the cost of our lives, as you can see in the many months that we have been fighting this threat.”
He emphasized that there was “no reason for the public to be alarmed and fear the declaration of martial law,” as government troops were committed to upholding the rule of law and respecting human rights, as reiterated in the initial guidelines released by the Department of National Defense.
He said additional guidelines for the implementation of martial law in Mindanao would be issued by the designated martial law administrator.
“Should you see abuses on the part of those implementing martial law, we encourage you to report them and on our end, we will provide you (with) a swift probe and a quick action to ensure the accountability of our men,” Padilla said.
