The Philippine government on Friday said foreign terrorists were among those killed in the ongoing firefights with the Islamic State (IS)-linked Maute group in Marawi City. In a news conference in Davao City, Solicitor General Jose Calida confirmed that foreign terrorists were fighting government troops alongside the IS-inspired group in Mindanao. There is a certain information that we received which confirmed the killing of 12 members of this group and about half of that number are foreign terrorists. Padilla said foreign terrorists have been in the country for a long time and have been aiding local terrorists in bomb-making. On Tuesday, President Rodrigo Duterte placed all of Mindanao under martial law after government troops clashed with terrorist group Maute.

Source: Manila Times May 26, 2017 17:03 UTC