The Philippine Maute terrorist group, which swore allegiance to the Islamic State (IS), has captured a part of one of the islands in the southern part of Philippines.
Philippine soldiers display an Islamic State flag that they captured while overrunning a militant camp in Butig, a town in the southern Philippine province of Lanao del Sur (Photo: AFP)
On November 26, militants of the Philippine Maute terrorist group captured a part of one of the islands in the southern part of Philippines, in the southern province of Lanao del Sur. Terrorists broke into the town and almost completely seized it after several hours of clashes with police.
The Philippine Army almost immediately began a special operation to liberate the municipality in southern Lanao. As a result of actions of the country’s Special Forces and Air Force, militants were dislodged from most parts of the populated locality, but they still hold the town’s center. According to unconfirmed reports, Islamists have raised a flag of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group over a building of the local administration.
During the fighting in southern Lanao on November 26-27, at least 11 Maute terrorists were killed, while four Philippine servicemen were wounded.
In January of this year, Philippine Islamists, including members of the Maute group, swore allegiance to the IS, and already in February they attacked a district of the city of Butig. The fighting lasted for more than a month there and resulted in destruction of the infrastructure and thousands of refugees.
