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May 27th, 2017 
Awake Goy 
nsnbc : Philippine air force jets fired rockets at positions of the local Islamic State franchise on Saturday to support ground troops in the campaign aimed to dislodge militants who had seized the city of Marawi, reportedly also with foreign militants, earlier this week.
The city of Marawi, home to about 200,000 people, came under siege by Islamic State linked militants since Tuesday after a raid aimed to capture ISIS and former Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon failed.
Isnilon got away, while fighters loyal to him took over parts of the city, burning buildings and seizing about a dozen hostages, including a priest. Their condition is unknown.
Calida mentioned fighters from Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, among others. On Wednesday President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law in Mindanao where Islamis “rebels” had raged for decades.
Military checkpoint. many civilians are trying to avoid being caught up in the crossfire between ISIS insurgents a the military.
The Abu Sayyaf group, led by Hapilon, has declared allegiance to the so-called Islamic State (ISIS, ISIL, Daesh) and been transformed into the so-called Maute, an ISIS-franchise. Hapilon was believed wounded when the military bombed his hideout in Lanao del Sur last January.
When martial law was declared, Lorenza said “They are already there. In fact the leader in Basilan, Isnilon Hapilon, is actually, I think, he is the anointed leader of the group there”. He added that Hapilon transferred to central Mindanao and organized the Maute Group.
The National Defense Department chief said “We were able to find out that he was there so we found where he was hiding, so we bomb, but unfortunately he wasn’t taken. He was wounded. And he kept dodging our operations”.
Isnilon Hapilon – wanted internationally.
Many locals have evacuated from the most dangerous areas of Marawi and the surrounding region, while many non-combatant civilians have begun marking their homes with white sheets / flags to signal their non-combatant status to the ground troops and air force.
Thousands, if not tens of thousands of people fled the most dangerous areas, giving the military more free hands in its operations, but also prompting a humanitarian challenge.
At least 44 people have died in the fighting, including 31 militants and 11 soldiers, officials say. It was not immediately clear whether civilians who easily become caught up in the crossfire when insurgents blur the line between combatants and non-combatants were among the dead.
President Rodrigo Duterte gave his troops a free hand to wrest control of Marawi from the Islamists. Referring to the martial law Duterte said “You can arrest any person, search any house without warrant.”
CH/L – nsnbc 27.05.2017
Source Article from https://nsnbc.me/2017/05/27/philippine-air-force-strikes-isis-in-marawi/
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