Jihadis execute, enslave civilians in Philippines

ISLAMIST militants holding parts of a Philippine city are killing civilians who try to flee while using others as orderlies and cooks, authorities said yesterday after the gunmen boasted of executions.

Up to 1 000 people are still trapped in parts of Marawi city which the militants control, the government said, three weeks after fighting erupted with gunmen going on the rampage and flying black flags of the Islamic State (IS) group.

The militants have defied a US-backed military onslaught which has seen relentless bombing of the residential areas of Marawi where they are holed up. Authorities say 400 gunmen are estimated to be still there and using civilians as slaves.

“Based on the revelations of the trapped civilians we have recovered [rescued], they are being used as orderlies to cook their food, to carry their munitions,” military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Jo-ar Herrera said.

At least 26 civilians, 58 police or soldiers and 202 militants have been killed, the government said.

Five civilians were killed on Monday as they made a dash for safety when the militants discovered their hiding place, presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said in Manila.

“The militants ran after them and indiscriminately fired at them, killing five and taking the remaining eight as hostages,” Abella said.

IS also released a video on Monday via its Amaq propaganda news agency which it said showed jihadists shooting six Christians in Marawi, according to the US-based SITE monitoring service.

There were tearful scenes in Marawi yesterday morning after five Muslim policemen and five Christian construction workers sprinted about 2km from the militant-controlled areas to safety.

“As we were running, the ISIS fired at us,” Marawi police officer Lumna Lidasan said between sobs.

Marawi, the main Islamic city in the mostly Catholic country, is largely abandoned. About 250 000 people have fled the city and area.