[AFP] The Philippine military pounded Islamist rebels holding parts of southern Marawi city with air strikes and artillery on Saturday as more soldiers were deployed and the death toll rose to more than 300 after nearly a month of fighting. MG520 attack helicopters and FA50 fighter jets were used in the raids, while sustained bursts of automatic gunfire could be heard in the distance, indicating the intensity of the fighting.
President Rodrigo Duterte, appearing in public for the first time in nearly a week, said the presence of foreign fighters among the rebels in Marawi have made the fighting more difficult. He said, "You have a conglomeration there of ISIS fighters from Syria, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lankan and Arabs. We have to use the air assets because we are up against fighters from the Middle East and they have learned the art of brutal killing—they will burn you, behead you."
Also on Saturday, 400 fresh troops were airlifted to Marawi from the central Philippines.
Military spokesman Jo-ar Herrera said, "Our forces are moving towards the heart of the enemy. It's the center of gravity. This is where the location of their command and control, the leadership of the enemy."
Ground commanders estimate more than 100 rebels are still holding out in at least four villages in Marawi, military spokesman Brigadier General Restituto Padilla said in Manila. But he said the figures were based on estimates a few days ago "so this number could have dropped significantly."
Earlier, Brig. Gen. Gilbert Gapay, martial law spokesman for Eastern Mindanao, said boats sailing in the Davao Gulf were being profiled and registered to prevent terrorists from entering the area. This came after reports that some members of the Maute group have begun fleeing to Eastern Mindanao.
Security forces were also mobilized to prevent any spillover from Marawi City and protect Eastern Mindanao from terrorists.
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: ryuge ||
06/18/2017 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[11135 views]
Top|| File under: Islamic State
#1
Hope they're blockading fleeing boats
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/18/2017 9:23 Comments ||
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Rumours? Fake news? Partially true? True? So many weasel words, but a dearth of quoted sources on the record. One begins to suspect someone is trying to cause trouble between allies and within the Philippines.
[MintPressNews] The U.S. is beefing up its military presence in the Philippines, claiming that the Philippines government requested their aid. However, President Rodrigo Duterte announced on Sunday he made no such request, raising concern that the U.S. may have an ulterior motive.
While the Philippine government claims that it did not request U.S. military aid, it remains unconfirmed if the Philippine Army requested the aid independently without consulting the federal government.
Duterte insinuated during Sunday’s press conference that this may be the case, stating that due to years of U.S. training, "our soldiers are pro-American, that I cannot deny." He did not explicitly comment on whether the army had asked for U.S. military aid without his approval.
However, the Philippine military seems to have admitted to asking for the aid. Philippine military spokesman Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla told the Associated Press: 'We don’t have adequate surveillance equipment, so we asked the U.S. military for assistance. It’s non-combat assistance.'
Continued on Page 47
#1
The fact that Mindanao is the very region now threatened by Daesh suggests that documented U.S. intelligence plans to use the terror group as a tool to destabilize and overthrow democratically-elected presidents may now be coming to fruition in the Philippines.
An entirely understandable train of thought, desperately flawed nonetheless. Could a Megyn Kelly and Alex Jones segment be pulled together to further explore ?
#5
“Duterte ejected U.S. special forces from the southern Philippines last year”. Not exactly true, SOCPAC phased out the Joint Special Operations Task Force- Philippines, (JSOTF-P) and the mission was assumed by Marine Special Operations Command, MARSOC in Zamboanga. Despite the scale down the Marines have been engaged down there, at one point a few months ago they got into a firefight and the whole squad had to leave the country prior to the news reports came out that they were involved in direct action. Duterte has been on kidney dialysis and has been absent due to “illness”, yes there maybe something afoot going on but to the extent that the US is plotting a coup is doubtful. We have lost contact over the last eight years under the prior administration of all our well-groomed assets. Now you do have some players that are vested in that rice bowl down there and they may seize this window of opportunity to take advantage of the current weakness by using the US as a smokescreen take action…….
Posted by: Joe of the Jungle ||
06/18/2017 12:43 Comments ||
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#6
What would the US have to gain? Put another way, would is a compelling reason?
#8
There's nothing in this that remotely points at "A US Led Military Coup". Maybe Duterte's own chiefs are thinking about tossing him, but I'm fairly sure all the US guys understand that getting involved in it would be a no-no.
It's kinda like a dog chasing a car, and the US invading Iraq: OK, now what are you going to do with it?
Posted by: ed in texas ||
06/18/2017 15:28 Comments ||
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#10
Interesting note is that the Seabees have taken up the heavy lifting for Civil Military Operations in the Southern Philippines. This was once a SF deal, and they are the best in this type of operations here, low key and effective. Now that the powers at be have the purse strings, and what I have seen is the full blown industrial in your face we know how do it better type of Op. When do we stop reinventing the wheel??
Posted by: Joe of the Jungle ||
06/18/2017 19:54 Comments ||
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#11
Good question, Joe. We had, as you mentioned, some pretty good assets down there (and elsewhere). It's going to take a decade, probably two, to get things back to near where they were prior to 2008.
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[AFP] The Philippine military pounded Islamist rebels holding parts of southern Marawi city with air strikes and artillery on Saturday as more soldiers were deployed and the death toll rose to more than 300 after nearly a month of fighting. MG520 attack helicopters and FA50 fighter jets were used in the raids, while sustained bursts of automatic gunfire could be heard in the distance, indicating the intensity of the fighting.
