IS ‘executed’ 116 in Syria town revenge campaign
The
Islamic State group killed 116 people suspected of collaborating with
the Syrian regime in Al-Qaryatain this month before losing the desert to
government forces, a monitor said on Monday. "For
more than 20 days IS has executed more than 116 civilians in
retaliatory killings, accusing them of collaborating with regime
forces," said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the observatory at the Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights based in Britain. A
five-month battle with IS ends in the Philippine city Also a five-month
battle against
supporters of the Islamic State in the southern Philippines that claimed more than 1,100 lives has ended after a final battle inside a mosque, said Monday the heads of defense. The conclusion of the conflict ended with immediate fears that IS would establish a base in Southeast Asia in the southern city of Marawi. But concerns over its longer-term intentions and capabilities persisted for the region. "We now announce the completion of all combat operations in Marawi," Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana told reporters as part of a regional security meeting in Clark, a northern Philippine city. "There are no more militants inside the city of Marawi." Hundreds of local and foreign armed men who had pledged allegiance to the EI razed Marawi, the main Islamic city of the Philippines, mainly Catholics, on May 23. They then took parts of the city using civilians as human shields. A US-backed military campaign claimed the lives of at least 920 militants, 165 soldiers and 47 civilians, according to the army. More than 400,000 residents were displaced as almost daily air strikes and the intense ground combat left large parts of the city in ruins. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte traveled to Marawi on Tuesday last week and said the city had been "freed," a day after Southeast Asia leader for IS, a Filipino militant named Isnilon Hapilon, was shot dead there. Nevertheless, the continuation of the confrontations in later days raised doubts on if the city was actually free of militants. "The presence of the Maute-ISIS was limited to two buildings, one of them a mosque," military chief General Eduardo Ano told reporters Monday while explaining the situation in Marawi following the proclamation of Duterte's release . "That's where the last confrontation occurred and that's where we rescued 20 additional hostages." In that fight, we gave these militants and terrorists the opportunity to surrender. But they fought to the last breath, so we had no choice. "The bodies of 42 militants recovered after the final battle, including two women and five foreigners, according to Ano, who spoke at the same briefing session as Lorenzana in Clark - Hidden in cellars, mosques - Hapilon, which was on the list of the US government's most wanted terrorists, was killed along with one of the group's other leaders, Omarkhayam Maute, according to the army. The military also said its opponents hid inside mosques and the soldiers were ordered not to bomb or fire artillery at those buildings.The Muslim minority in the Philippines regards the southern Philippines as their ancestral homeland Muslim rebels have been fighting in the south since the 1970s for independence or self nomy, with that conflict that claimed at least 120,000 lives. The nation's largest Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, is in talks with the government to end the rebellion, and its leaders regularly denounce IS. But there are more extreme groups with no interest in peace, some of which were originally part of the MILF. Hapilon and Maute led small armed groups that declared their loyalty to IS in recent years, and formed an alliance to seize Marawi and establish a regional caliphate for Jihadists based in the Middle East. Duterte imposed martial law in the southern third of the Philippines immediately after the Marawi struggle broke out, saying that it was necessary to contain the influence of IS that spread throughout the region. When asked Monday whether the marriage law would be lifted, Lorenzana said a decision had not yet been made. US Secretary of Defense James Mattis praised the Philippines for its success on Monday. "One of the first things I'm going to do when I get there is to congratulate the Philippine army for freeing Marawi from the terrorists," Mattis told reporters in a statement.a flight to the Philippines to attend the security meeting in Clark.
supporters of the Islamic State in the southern Philippines that claimed more than 1,100 lives has ended after a final battle inside a mosque, said Monday the heads of defense. The conclusion of the conflict ended with immediate fears that IS would establish a base in Southeast Asia in the southern city of Marawi. But concerns over its longer-term intentions and capabilities persisted for the region. "We now announce the completion of all combat operations in Marawi," Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana told reporters as part of a regional security meeting in Clark, a northern Philippine city. "There are no more militants inside the city of Marawi." Hundreds of local and foreign armed men who had pledged allegiance to the EI razed Marawi, the main Islamic city of the Philippines, mainly Catholics, on May 23. They then took parts of the city using civilians as human shields. A US-backed military campaign claimed the lives of at least 920 militants, 165 soldiers and 47 civilians, according to the army. More than 400,000 residents were displaced as almost daily air strikes and the intense ground combat left large parts of the city in ruins. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte traveled to Marawi on Tuesday last week and said the city had been "freed," a day after Southeast Asia leader for IS, a Filipino militant named Isnilon Hapilon, was shot dead there. Nevertheless, the continuation of the confrontations in later days raised doubts on if the city was actually free of militants. "The presence of the Maute-ISIS was limited to two buildings, one of them a mosque," military chief General Eduardo Ano told reporters Monday while explaining the situation in Marawi following the proclamation of Duterte's release . "That's where the last confrontation occurred and that's where we rescued 20 additional hostages." In that fight, we gave these militants and terrorists the opportunity to surrender. But they fought to the last breath, so we had no choice. "The bodies of 42 militants recovered after the final battle, including two women and five foreigners, according to Ano, who spoke at the same briefing session as Lorenzana in Clark - Hidden in cellars, mosques - Hapilon, which was on the list of the US government's most wanted terrorists, was killed along with one of the group's other leaders, Omarkhayam Maute, according to the army. The military also said its opponents hid inside mosques and the soldiers were ordered not to bomb or fire artillery at those buildings.The Muslim minority in the Philippines regards the southern Philippines as their ancestral homeland Muslim rebels have been fighting in the south since the 1970s for independence or self nomy, with that conflict that claimed at least 120,000 lives. The nation's largest Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, is in talks with the government to end the rebellion, and its leaders regularly denounce IS. But there are more extreme groups with no interest in peace, some of which were originally part of the MILF. Hapilon and Maute led small armed groups that declared their loyalty to IS in recent years, and formed an alliance to seize Marawi and establish a regional caliphate for Jihadists based in the Middle East. Duterte imposed martial law in the southern third of the Philippines immediately after the Marawi struggle broke out, saying that it was necessary to contain the influence of IS that spread throughout the region. When asked Monday whether the marriage law would be lifted, Lorenzana said a decision had not yet been made. US Secretary of Defense James Mattis praised the Philippines for its success on Monday. "One of the first things I'm going to do when I get there is to congratulate the Philippine army for freeing Marawi from the terrorists," Mattis told reporters in a statement.a flight to the Philippines to attend the security meeting in Clark.
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