In this photo provided by Malacanang Palace in Manila, clad in a combat uniform and a protective vest, President Rodrigo Duterte holds an assault rifle during his third visit to the embattled Marawi city in southern Philippines on Aug 24. Duterte traveled

MANILA, Philippines, Aug 24, (Agencies): The Philippine military says President Rodrigo Duterte has traveled to the main battle area in southern Marawi, where it says troops have finally recaptured a main mosque where Islamic Statelinked militants had taken cover with their hostages during the three-month siege of the city.

Military officials released pictures of Duterte clad in a combat uniform, bullet-resistant vest and helmet while talking to troops Thursday in Marawi. It was Duterte’s third known trip to the embattled city.

More than 760 people, including 595 militants, have died in the Marawi fighting, which has sparked concerns that the Islamic State group may have taken a foothold in Southeast Asia through local extremists as it suffers battle setbacks in Syria and Iraq.

Meanwhile, fighting in the troubled southern Philippine region of Mindanao has combined with extreme weather events to create a “humanitarian catastrophe”, French aid groups said Wednesday.

Around one million people have fled their homes in the region, according to Thibault Henry, head of the Philippines chapter of the charity Acted.

“Basic needs are not covered,” Henry told AFP.

“Clearly it’s a huge humanitarian crisis, a catastrophe, that will affect the region for many years,” he said, noting that more than half of the population lives in poverty.

In early July a top government official estimated the number of displaced at 400,000.

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the Philippines’ largest Muslim rebel group, and government forces, with US military backing, are battling militants who support the Islamic State group (IS) in the region.