Martial law after Philippines raid
MANILA: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte cut short a visit to Russia and imposed martial law on the island of Mindanao on Tuesday after a fierce bout of fighting erupted during a raid by security forces at a hideout of Islamic Statelinked militants.
Two soldiers and a policeman were killed and 12 wounded amid chaos in Marawi, a predominantly Muslim city of about 200,000 people, where members of the Maute militant group took control of buildings and set fire to a school, a church and a detention facility.
Duterte, a native of Mindanao, cancelled a meeting yesterday with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.
‘‘The Government is in full control of the situation and is fully aware that the Maute/ISIS and similar groups have the capability, though limited, to disturb the peace,’’ presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella told a news conference in Moscow.
The Maute and Abu Sayyaf militant groups have pledged allegiance to Islamic State (IS), and have proved fierce opponents for the military as Duterte seeks to crush extremists and prevent radical Islamist ideology from spreading in the Philippines.
Abella said the militants ‘‘have shown no hesitation in causing havoc, taking innocent lives and destroying property.’’
Duterte has warned repeatedly that Mindanao, an impoverished, restive region the size of South Korea, was at risk of ‘‘contamination’’ by IS fighters driven out of Iraq and Syria.
Brigadiergeneral Rolando Bautista, commander of the Philippines’
First Infantry Division, said security forces were trying to locate militants who had scattered everywhere and were blocking reinforcements from arriving.
‘‘There are more or less 100, divided into groups of 10 in different locations,’’ Bautista told news channel ANC.
‘‘Since they are advocating IS ideology they have to show IS that they are a force to be reckoned with.’’
Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said some 1000 soldiers would be in Marawi by morning, but warned civilians to stay in their homes.
‘‘There are Maute snipers all around, so the troops are still holding and elements have already joined,’’ he said.
The purpose of Tuesday’s raid was to capture Isnilon Hapilon, a leader of the Abu Sayyaf group, notorious for piracy and for kidnapping and beheading Westerners.