Philippines: Troops seize jungle hideout after clashes with Maute fighters
Government security forces supported by artillery and helicopters have seized a pro-Daesh militant stronghold in the southern Philippines following a series of running skirmishes with extremists.
Three members of the radical Maute group were killed and three soldiers wounded in the attack, an army spokesman said on Friday.
Fighting broke out a few days after the historic plebiscite on the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL), which offers greater autonomy to the Philippines’ Muslim minority.
Col. Romeo Brawner, Jr., the 103rd Infantry Brigade commander, said fighting erupted between troops and remnants of the Maute group early on Thursday in Sultan Dumalondong, Lanao del Sur, about 50 km from Marawi City.
The city was the site of the bloody five-month siege by militants in 2017.