Philippine Troops Fight to Retake City Overrun by ISIS Militants

Alan Taylor
May 30, 2017
24 Photos
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A Muslim militant group linked to ISIS attacked and took control of parts of Marawi city on Mindanao island in the southern Philippines last week. Philippine government troops have been evacuating civilians and fighting back, with soldiers on the ground and attack aircraft in the sky. Gunmen from local terrorist groups with ties to ISIS, called the Maute Group and Abu Sayyaf, overran the city, leading President Rodrigo Duterte to declare 60 days of martial law in Mindanao, as 85,000 residents fled to evacuation centers. While the government says it has now regained control of most of the city, fighting continues, and the death toll has climbed to nearly 100.

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In this May 27, 2017, photo, a fire rages at houses following airstrikes by the Philippine Air Force in Marawi, southern Philippines. Philippine military jets fired rockets at militant positions Saturday as soldiers fought to wrest control of the southern city from gunmen linked to the Islamic State group. #

Bullit Marquez / AP

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Soldiers run for cover to evade sniper fire while trying to clear the city of armed militants, one street at a time, on May 25, 2017 in Marawi city, Philippines. #

Jes Aznar / Getty

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A bullet hole is seen in a window in a building at the site of an earlier gun battle between government forces and Muslim militants in Marawi on May 29, 2017. #

Bullit Marquez / AP

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Soldiers fire at enemy positions while they try to clear the city of armed militants one street at a time on May 25, 2017 in Marawi city. #

Jes Aznar / Getty

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A helicopter gunship fires a rocket at Muslim militant positions in the continuing assaults to retake control of some areas of Marawi city on May 28, 2017. #

Bullit Marquez / AP

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Smoke rises in a residential neighborhood of Marawi City as fighting rages between government soldiers and the Maute militant group on May 27, 2017. #

Erik de Castro / Reuters

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A view of a fire caused by continued fighting between government soldiers and the Maute group, in Marawi City, on May 28, 2017. #

Erik de Castro / Reuters

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Residents and commuters queue up at a police checkpoint at the entrance to Iligan City on the southern island of of Mindanao on May 29, 2017, after local authorities locked down the city due to a terror threat. #

Ted Aljibe / AFP / Getty

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With white flags to indicate they are non-combatants, displaced residents continue to flee by a convoy of vehicles to safer areas as government troops battle with Muslim militants on May 29, 2017. #

Bullit Marquez / AP

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A woman sits with other residents as they flee a Muslim militant siege in Marawi city in southern Philippines on May 25, 2017. #

Bullit Marquez / AP

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A resident displays a white flag on rooftop of a house in Marawi City on May 28, 2017. #

Erik de Castro / Reuters

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A view of the Maute group stronghold with an ISIS flag in Marawi City in southern Philippines, on May 29, 2017. #

Erik de Castro / Reuters

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A government soldier's bullet bandoliers is seen, as he arranges them on his shoulder, while advancing his position in Marawi City on May 28, 2017. #

Erik de Castro / Reuters

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Soldiers carry the body of a civilian killed by insurgents from the so-called Maute group, who has taken over large parts of Marawi City, on May 25, 2017. #

Marconi Navales / Reuters

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A police officer holds a poster of wanted Filipino Muslim militants known as "Maute " group at a checkpoint set up at the entrance to Iligan city on May 27, 2017. Iligan city is one of the safe havens for the tens of thousands of Marawi residents who have fled their city following the rampage by Muslim militants. #

Bullit Marquez / AP

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Residents view unidentified bodies believed to be executed by armed militants and dumped in a ditch as blood stains are seen on the pavement of a road on May 28, 2017 in Marawi city. The 8 men, who were hogtied and executed on the side of the road in between police checkpoints, had a cardboard sign tied to their body with the word "Monafik," which loosely means traitors written on them. #

Jes Aznar / Getty

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Local police showing a bullet that was fired by armed militants in the city besieged by armed militants, on May 29, 2017 in Marawi city. #

Jes Aznar / Getty

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A resident looks out from the window of a building in Marawi City as fighting rages between government soldiers and the Maute militant group on May 27, 2017. #

Erik de Castro / Reuters

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An OV-10 aircraft prepares to drop bombs during a continuous assault with insurgents from the so-called Maute group in Marawi City, on May 27, 2017. #

Romeo Ranoco / Reuters

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Smoke billows from the city center after an air attack by Philippine government troops on May 30, 2017 in Marawi city. #

Jes Aznar / Getty

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Government troops head to the frontline as fighting with Muslim militants in Marawi city enters its second week on May 30, 2017. #

Bullit Marquez / AP

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A cat walks past government soldiers fighting the Maute group in Marawi City on May 28, 2017. #

Erik de Castro / Reuters

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A white flag to indicate that the residents are non-combatants is placed on the roof of a house as government forces continue to battle against Muslim militants in Marawi city on May 27, 2017. #

Bullit Marquez / AP

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Residents who survived the siege of ISIS-linked militants took shelter in a gymnasium of an adjacent town on May 30, 2017 in Baloi, Lanao del Norte, Philippines. Thousand of Marawi residents escaped the city in fear of ISIS-linked militants taking over the city, some walked for hours or days through various routes without food and water. Filipino authorities announced around 2,000 people had been stranded amid street battles and air strikes while bodies of foreign Islamist militants were discovered during the ongoing battles in the southern city. #

Jes Aznar / Getty

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