'At least 100 bodies' in besieged Marawi

Residents fleeing the besieged Marawi City have seen at least 100 dead bodies, a Philippines politician involved in rescue operations says.

Filipino soldiers carry a wounded comrade as fighting between Islamist militants and government forces continues in Marawi City

Filipino soldiers carry a wounded comrade as fighting between Islamist militants and government forces continues in Marawi City. Source: AAP

A Philippines politician says residents fleeing besieged Marawi City have seen at least 100 bodies in an area where intense fighting has taken place between security forces and Islamist militants in the last three weeks.

Zia Alonto Adiong, who is helping in rescue and relief efforts, says he had earlier mistakenly said 500 to 1000 dead bodies were seen by residents.

"I'm sorry, I'm talking about the estimated number of trapped residents," he told reporters.

"Dead bodies, at least 100, scattered around the encounter area."
The military says 290 people have died in more than three weeks of fighting, including 206 militants, 58 soldiers and 26 civilians.

It comes as The Philippines military arrested one of the Maute brothers, a senior member of the IS-backed militants .

Mohammad Noaim Maute was arrested at a checkpoint near the coastal city of Cagayan de Oro just after dawn on Thursday, military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Jo-Ar Herrera said.

Two of Mohammad's brothers, Omarkhayam and Abdullah, lead the Maute gang that is at the forefront of the vicious battle with security forces for Marawi City.

Share
Published 15 June 2017 6:10pm
Updated 15 June 2017 6:27pm
Source: AAP

Tags

Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world