[CNN] Two key ISIS-affiliated leaders engaged in a standoff with Philippine security forces in Marawi have been killed. The two leaders were named as Isnilon Hapilon, who was declared the IS emir for southeast Asia, and Omar Maute, a leader of a local militant group that had pledged allegiance to ISIS.The pair were killed, along with seven other rebels, while attempting to exit a building at street level during a four-hour gun battle, General Eduardo Ano said at a news conference. Maute was shot in the head by a sniper. Their bodies were positively identified by a former hostage, Ano said.
The deaths of both Hapilon and Maute will likely hasten the retreat of Maute militants from Marawi, according to security analyst Richard Heydarian. He said, "The political and military leadership of the ISIS movement (in the Philippines) has essentially been neutralized."
There are still 22 hostages and eight foreign militants remaining, according to Ano.
The death of Hapilon and Omar Maute may come to signal the final stage of the protracted and destructive standoff in Marawi, but it's feared that fighters could resort to traditional types of terror attacks -- a possibility President Duterte warned of Wednesday.Duterte said,"They will not disappear. They will regroup anywhere and everywhere. Be patient. This terrorism inspired by IS will not go in about seven to 10 years ... terrorism is a deadly movement to confront us and our children. Your children will encounter this. It will reach your retirement age. So just be prepared for that."