PHILIPPINE TROOPS NAB 59 SUSPECTED MILITANTS
Group suspected of planning to sneak into Marawi to help IS terrorists
MANILA
PHILIPPINE troops have seized 59 suspected militants trying to reinforce Islamist gunmen holed up in Marawi, who have been battling government forces for more than two months, military officials said yesterday.
The capture of the “suspicious persons” in the troubled Mindanao region has raised questions about how the Islamic State-inspired fighters have been able to hold out in Marawi for almost 70 days.
Thirty-two suspected militants were arrested at a military checkpoint in Ipil, while 27 others were taken at a house in Zamboanga City on Tuesday, regional military spokesman Captain Jo-Ann Petinglay said.
A total 59 police and military uniforms were seized from the suspects.
The group is suspected of planning to sneak into Marawi to help militants who have been on a rampage since May 23, battling government troops, holding numerous hostages and burning buildings while flying the IS flag.
“They (the troops) have just prevented these individuals from potentially compounding the operational challenges in Marawi should they (have) succeeded in sneaking into the city,” a military statement quoted LieutenantGeneral Carlito Galvez, commander of the troops in Marawi, as saying.
He credited local governments and residents for reporting the suspects.
Although the government initially said there were only a few hundred militants in Marawi, the gunmen have held off the armed forces for weeks, resisting air strikes and artillery barrages.
Petinglay said those arrested were all Filipinos but their backgrounds were still being checked. AFP