AFP turns to heavy firepower vs Maute

MANILA, Philippines - The military unleashed heavy firepower – including guided rockets fired from helicopters – for the first time yesterday on Maute positions in Marawi City in a bid to end the siege by the terror group once and for all.

This came amid growing confidence that the location of the man believed to be the leader of the Islamic State (IS)-inspired fighters, Isnilon Hapilon, has been pinpointed in the city.

“We are trying to use our maximum force,” said Maj. Gen. Carlito Galvez, chief of the Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom).

“The main purpose of the offensive is to suppress the lawlessness and to maintain normalcy in Marawi so that our people here, our countrymen, can return, especially by Ramadan,” he said.

He said the presence of the terrorists in their midst was preventing Muslim residents of the city from peacefully observing Ramadan.

“It is in this light that there is a need to deliberately employ forces and air assets to target with precision selected, identified and already isolated terrorist locations,” Galvez said.

He said even Muslim soldiers deferred their observance of Ramadan so they could help defeat the terrorists and restore normalcy in the city and in the rest of Mindanao.

“Our Muslim soldiers for now need to give their share of sacrifices in order to make sure that Islam believers from Marawi can soon go back to their homes and observe Ramadan,” the Westmincom chief said.

“Our Muslim soldiers who are in Marawi need to sacrifice for now and defer their religious practice until we can address the situation in Marawi,” he pointed out.

Galvez said civilians are enduring “extreme deprivation” because government services are unavailable and shops are closed.

“These terrorist atrocities continue to sow terror and confusion even to non-combatant Muslims and Christians,” he said in a statement.

Ramadan, Islam’s holy month of fasting and prayer, began yesterday. It has special significance in Marawi, which has a predominantly Muslim population in a largely Catholic country.

The Maute rebels’ hold of Marawi City and the government’s announcement that Indonesians and Malaysians were among the fighters have raised alarm about the prospect of the IS’s radical ideology gaining traction in Southeast Asia.

“I saw two jets swoop down and fire at rebel positions repeatedly,” Alexander Mangundatu, a security guard, said as a plume of black smoke billowed in the distance. “I pity the civilians and the women who were near the targeted area. They’re getting caught in the conflict and I hope this ends soon.”

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Eduardo Año said Hapilon is still hiding out in the city under the protection of gunmen who are desperately trying to find a way to extricate him. He said Hapilon suffered a stroke after a government airstrike wounded him in January.

Año predicted that the military operation would take about a week as soldiers go house to house to clear the city of militants.

Solicitor General Jose Calida said foreigners were fighting alongside the gunmen in Marawi, including Indonesians and Malaysians.

“We suspect that, but we’re still validating,” he said on reports that foreign fighters were helping the Maute militants.

Military spokesman Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla said government forces were working to “clear the city of all remnants of this group.”

He said some civilians refused to evacuate because they want to guard their homes, slowing down government operations.

“But that’s fine as long as civilians are not hurt,” Padilla said.

“In as much as we would like to avoid collateral damage, these terrorists are forcing the hand of government by hiding and holding out inside private homes, government buildings and other facilities. Their refusal to surrender is holding the city captive,” he said.

 “We appeal for everyone’s understanding as we take the necessary steps to accomplish our mission and prevent the loss of more innocent lives and damage to property,” Padilla said.

Open to dialogue

At Malacañang, President Duterte’s spokesman Ernesto Abella said the Chief Executive is open to negotiation with the terror group in the spirit of Ramadan.

“In this spirit of Muslim peace, the President has offered the hand of peaceful dialogue to terrorist groups, to avoid bloodshed in this time of prayer, fasting and mercy,” Abella said yesterday.

“With all faiths, we pray that God restore and preserve peace in Mindanao,” he said.

The Palace issued a statement of solidarity with the Muslim community as Islam’s observance of Ramadan began yesterday.

“We stand with Muslim Filipinos in their reverent observance of the holy month of Ramadan.?Together we pray for an end to terrorism that falsely claims to advance Islam and seeks to subjugate our land to the brutal IS,” Abella said.

The Palace also took time to pray for the policemen killed in the initial fighting with the Maute group.

“We take a moment to remember some of the first casualties in the May 23 attacks in Marawi City; Marawi City Police Senior Insp. and Intelligence Unit chief Freddie Manuel Solar, from Baguio City, and two members of Special Forces, First Lt. John Carl Morales and Special Forces Marlon Baldovino, both of Kabacan, North Cotabato,” Abella said.

While claiming he is open to dialogue, Duterte said on Friday he had instructed the military to kill anyone brandishing unlicensed firearms in Mindanao, especially if they resist when accosted.

The Maute group has emerged from the glut of bandit and separatist groups in Mindanao. It is seen as a tactically smart, social media savvy group eager to align with IS militants.

Security experts say Mindanao could become a draw for regional extremists and the Maute’s alignment with the IS and its ability to take on the military could support moves to secure funding and recruit foreign and local fighters.

A city of 200,000 people, Marawi is mostly deserted, with officials saying “80-90 percent” of the population has been evacuated.

Some residents remain in relatively safe neighbors but others are trapped close to the fighters from the Maute group and other militants from the area.

IS’s Amaq news agency claimed responsibility for the Marawi unrest, although that came more than a day after it started.

The military said Maute has yet to be endorsed by the IS as one of its affiliates.

The militants have control of some government buildings, including a jail, which was seized on Tuesday, leading to the escape of more than 100 prisoners, including some Maute members.

“I saw them near the highway. I saw ISIS there. I could tell because they wore black headbands with the ISIS signs,” said one man fleeing Marawi by foot, who identified himself as Musa. “They were also riding around my area on motorcycles.”

Jo-Ar Herrera, a military spokesman, said 41 militants had been killed, with 10 more deaths after heavy fighting on Friday. Two more soldiers died, bringing the total of those killed in action to 13. Forty-five military personnel had been wounded.

Asked whether the military had located the whereabouts of Hapilon in Marawi, Herrera answered “yes.”

“They can run but they can’t hide,” he said, adding that it was only a matter of time before Hapilon is captured or killed.

Hapilon, a leader of another Mindanao-based rebel group Abu Sayyaf, pledged allegiance to IS last year and has formed an alliance with Maute.

The military said he is still wounded from a January air strike and the fierce Maute resistance is aimed at protecting him.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said Hapilon received $2 million from Syria to fund his campaign in Mindanao.

Sidney Jones, a regional security expert, said it was not clear that Hapilon was calling the shots in Marawi.

Abdullah Maute, one of two brothers that formed Maute, may be setting the overall strategy.

“He’s smarter, and the fighters are in his territory. So no, Hapilon’s death would not cripple the movement,” Jones said.  – With Christina Mendez, AP