MANILA - President Rodrigo Duterte said that the crisis in Mindanao is purely planned and done by the Islamic State.
In his speech, he said that he knew that the ISIS has plans when the top Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon, left his place in the south for the region's mainland.
"Iyung rebellion sa Mindanao, it's not Maute, it's purely ISIS with a different branch", Duterte said.
“Itong Marawi [siege] has long been planned. It could not be just a decision na ‘let’s go to Mindanao.’
Nung si Hapilon na ang pinadala sa central Mindanao and he was the anointed emir [of ISIS], doon na ako nakaamoy na something terribly wrong is going to happen kasi dala-dala na niya ang ISIS,” he added.
ISIS was known for their bloody attacks and bombings all over the world, including in Europe.
The recent discovery that foreign jihadis were fighting alongside domestic terror groups in Marawi seemed to lend credence to long-running reports that the Islamic State was trying to establish a foothold in Asia through the Philippines as it dealt with losses in Iraq and Syria.
In a press briefing in Malacañang, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said there were indications that the eight foreign fighters so far killed in the ongoing clashes were ISIS militants.
Lorenzana said the military has so far identified 2 Malaysians, 2 Saudis, 2 Indonesians, a Yemeni, and a Chechen as among those killed in the siege, which started on May 23.
“The report we got from the civilians from Marawi is they saw a lot of foreign-looking fighters,” said the defense chief.
“There could be more that we killed that we have not identified," the diffence chief added.
Lorenzana said about 50 to 100 militants remained holed up in Marawi City, and that efforts were now underway to flush them out, with the Philippine Marines sending a battalion to neutralize continuing resistance in the city.
“Some of them have already started to rejoin their barangays. Going to their former places,” he addresses to the militants.
President Rodrigo Duterte on May 23 placed Mindanao under martial following the clashes, which have so far left 164 dead.
Among the fatalities were 120 terrorists, 25 government troops and 19 civilians, Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesperson Col. Edgard Arevalo told DZMM.
Violence erupted in the city after government troops attempted to arrest Hapilon. He managed to evade arrest but Lorenzana said Hapilon remains in Marawi City.
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