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Reuters

The Philippines on Monday announced the end of five months of military operations in a southern city held by pro-Islamic State rebels, after a fierce and unfamiliar urban war that has marked the country’s biggest security crisis in years.
Offensive combat operations were terminated after troops put a stop to the last stand of rebel gunmen who clung on inside several buildings in the heart of Marawi, and refused to surrender.

Artillery and automatic gunfire were still heard on Monday and Reuters journalists saw flames behind a mosque. The bodies of 40 fighters and two of their wives were found there and in two buildings close by.
Ernesto Abella, spokesman for President Rodrigo Duterte, said the army had prevailed against “the most serious threat of violent extremism and radicalism in the Philippines and in Southeast Asia”.

Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said security forces had “nipped the budding infrastructure” of extremist groups.
“In crushing thus far the most serious attempt to export violent extremism and radicalism in the Philippines and in the region, we have contributed to preventing its spread in Asia,” Lorenzana said in Clark at a meeting of regional defence ministers.

The rebel occupation stunned a military inexperienced in urban combat and stoked wider concerns that Islamic State loyalists have gained influence among local Muslims and have ambitions to use the island of Mindanao as a base for operations in Southeast Asia.
Those fears are compounded by the organisation of the militant alliance and its ability to recruit young fighters, lure foreign radicals, stockpile huge amounts of arms and endure 154 days of ground offensives and air strikes.

The authorities said 920 militants, 165 troops and police and at least 45 civilians were killed in the conflict, which forced more than 300,000 people to flee the city.
The centre of the picturesque lakeside town is now in ruins because of heavy shelling and aerial bombing.
The deputy task force commander in Marawi, Colonel Romeo Brawner, said troops would secure the city from militant “stragglers” who might still be alive.

“If we find them and they will attack our soldiers or even the civilians, then we will have to defend ourselves,” he told reporters.
After months of slow progress, the military has made significant gains in retaking Marawi in the week since Isnilon Hapilon, Islamic State’s “emir” in Southeast Asia and Omarkhayam Maute, a leader of the Maute militant group, were killed in a nighttime operation.

Another leader and possible moneyman for the operation, Malaysian Mahmud Ahmad, was probably also killed, the military said.
Military spokesman, Major General Restituto Padilla, confirmed there was still ongoing gunfire, but there were “no more terrorists” and the army’s last battles were with an enemy decimated by the loss of its leadership.

“They were formless, they had no place to run,” he said.
Duterte had declared Marawi City liberated six days ago, even though fighting was not actually over. On Sunday, he said it was important to be vigilant because no country could escape Islamic State’s “clutches of evil”.

“I’m not trying to scare you, but let’s just be prepared for any event,” he said.
Lorenzana said six battalions of troops would remain in Marawi and though the battle had been won, the enemy’s radical ideology had not been completely annihilated.

He thanked the US, Australia, Singapore and China for providing weapons and technical support, including surveillance aircraft, and said the conflict would be a catalyst for closer international cooperation against extremism.
The government estimates the rebuilding of the heart of Marawi could cost more than US$1 billion.


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Islamic militancy

Battle over: Philippines declares end of Marawi siege after dozens of militants die in final showdown

The Philippine flag is held by a soldier after government troops cleared Marawi of militants. Photo: Reuters

This photo taken on October 17, 2017 shows Philippine soldiers flashing victory signs in what was the main combat area of Marawi on the southern island of Mindanao. A five-month battle against Islamic State group supporters in the southern Philippines that claimed more than 1,000 lives has ended following a final battle inside a mosque, defence chiefs said on October 23. / AFP PHOTO / TED ALJIBE

Flame rises as damaged buildings are seen after government troops cleared the area from pro-Islamic State militant groups inside a war-torn area in Marawi city, southern Philippines October 23, 2017. REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco

Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana (L) and armed forces chief Eduardo Ano speak to the press on Oct. 23, 2017, on the sidelines of a meeting of Southeast Asian defense ministers in Clark, Pampanga province, located north of the capital Manila. Lorenzana announced the end of government offensives against Islamic State-inspired terrorists in the southern Philippine city of Marawi which had been under siege since May 23. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

This photo taken on October 17, 2017 shows Philippine soldiers standing beside a battle-scarred building in what was the main combat area of Marawi on the southern island of Mindanao. A five-month battle against Islamic State group supporters in the southern Philippines that claimed more than 1,000 lives has ended following a final battle inside a mosque, defence chiefs said on October 23. / AFP PHOTO / TED ALJIBE

epa06278649 A handout photo made available by the Presidential Photographers Division (PPD) on 20 October 2017 shows Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte (R) saluting government troops as they travel back from their combat duty against pro-Islamic State militant groups, at an airport in Cagayan de Oro, southern Philippines, 20 October 2017. Duterte on 17 October declared the city of Marawi liberated after five months of fighting between the Philippine armed forces and rebels allied to the so-calles 'Islamic State', or IS. EPA-EFE/ACE MORANDANTE / PPD / HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES

Damaged buildings are seen after government troops cleared the area from pro-Islamic State militant groups inside war-torn Bangolo town, Marawi City, southern Philippines October 23, 2017. REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco

This photo taken on October 17, 2017 shows Philippine soldiers walking past battle-scarred buildings in what was the main combat area of Marawi on the southern island of Mindanao. A five-month battle against Islamic State group supporters in the southern Philippines that claimed more than 1,000 lives has ended following a final battle inside a mosque, defence chiefs said on October 23. / AFP PHOTO / TED ALJIBE

This photo taken on October 17, 2017 shows Philippine soldiers walking past battle-scarred buildings, including a mosque (C), in what was the main combat area of Marawi on the southern island of Mindanao. A five-month battle against Islamic State group supporters in the southern Philippines that claimed more than 1,000 lives has ended following a final battle inside a mosque, defence chiefs said on October 23. / AFP PHOTO / TED ALJIBE

A military vehicle drives past destroyed buildings in what was the main combat area of Marawi on the southern island of Mindanao on October 23, 2017. A five-month battle against Islamic State group supporters in the southern Philippines that claimed more than 1,000 lives has ended following a final battle inside a mosque, defence chiefs said on October 23. / AFP PHOTO / MERLYN MANOS

Last stand: Philippine army battles final 30 Muslim militants in Marawi

Philippine Marine Battalion Landing Team at the military headquarters in Marawi, southern Philippines. Photo: Reuters

Philippine Army Col. Romeo Brawner, the deputy commander of a military task force involved in the battle against Muslim militants, gestures during a news conference on the latest developments in Marawi city, southern Philippines, Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017. Two days after President Rodrigo Duterte declared the liberation of Marawi city, Brawner announced the killing of 13 more suspected militants in the continuing military offensive. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

Damaged houses and buildings are seen after government troops cleared the area from pro-Islamic State militant groups inside the war-torn area in Saduc proper, Marawi city, southern Philippines October 22, 2017. REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco

epa06278652 A handout photo made available by the Presidential Photographers Division (PPD) on 20 October 2017 shows Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte (R) saluting government troops as they travel back from their combat duty against pro-Islamic State militant groups, at an airport in Cagayan de Oro, southern Philippines, 20 October 2017. Duterte on 17 October declared the city of Marawi liberated after five months of fighting between the Philippine armed forces and rebels allied to the so-calles 'Islamic State', or IS. EPA-EFE/KIWI BULACLAC / PPD / HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES

Soldiers stand on guard and look at damaged buildings and houses after government troops cleared the area from pro-Islamic State militant groups inside the war-torn area in Saduc proper, Marawi city, southern Philippines October 22, 2017. REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco

Philippines says top Malaysian militant killed in Marawi, but ‘there will be more’

Mahmud Ahmed was a former lecturer in Islamic studies at the University of Malaya who joined Islamic State and then travelled to the Philippines to link it up with the Abu Sayyaf and Maute militant groups. Photo: Handout

Marawi: bullet-riddled walls tell true story of Philippines’ longest urban war

A Philippine marine conducts a clearing operation in the ruined city of Marawi. File photo: EPA

Philippine troops stand beside photos of dead militant leaders Isnilon Hapilon and Omarkhayam Maute in Marawi, southern Philippines on Tuesday Oct. 17, 2017. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has declared the southern city of Marawi liberated though the military continues to battle a dwindling band of Muslim militants. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

A Philippine airforece F-50 fighter jet drops a bomb on Muslim militants' position during an aerial bombing in Marawi on June 24, 2017, one month after the conflict began on May 23. One of America's most wanted terrorists may have escaped a five-week battle with Islamist militants in a southern Philippine city, which began with a raid to capture him, the military said on June 24. / AFP PHOTO / PA / TED ALJIBE

President Rodrigo Duterte holds a pistol as he addresses the troops as he declared the liberation of Marawi city in the southern Philippines after almost five months of a siege by pro-Islamic State group militants Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2017. Gunfire rang out sporadically and explosions thudded as Philippine soldiers fought Tuesday to gain control of the last pocket of Marawi controlled by Islamic militants as President Duterte declared the southern city liberated from "terrorist influence." (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

ATTENTION EDITORS - VISUALS COVERAGE OF SCENES OF DEATH OR INJURY Emergency workers bury the bodies of some of the civilians and suspected militants killed in the main battle area as intense fighting rages in Marawi city, southern Philippines September 5, 2017. REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

This photo taken on October 17, 2017 shows a damaged mosque minaret (L) and buildings in Marawi on the southern island of Mindanao. At first glance, the endless rows of devastated buildings could be the aftermath of a great earthquake. But the punctured, bullet-riddled walls tell the true story of the Philippines' longest urban war. / AFP PHOTO / TED ALJIBE / TO GO WITH AFP STORY PHILIPPINES-UNREST-CONFLICT,FOCUS BY CECIL MORELLA

Philippine president Duterte declares Marawi ‘liberated from terrorists’, after bloody five-month siege

The lakeside city once home to 200,000 people has been devastated by months of fighting. Defence minister says reconstruction to start in January

In this photo released by the 4th Civil Relations Group, Civil Relations Service Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine military chief Gen. Eduardo Ano holds pictures of dead militant leaders during a press conference at a military camp in Marawi, southern Philippines on Monday, Oct. 16, 2017. The last two surviving leaders of a deadly siege in the southern Philippines, including a top Asian terror suspect, were killed Monday in a push by thousands of troops to retake the last pocket of Marawi city still held by pro-Islamic State militants, top security officials said. Officials said that Isnilon Hapilon, who is listed among the FBI's most-wanted terror suspects, and Omarkhayam Maute were killed in a gunbattle and their bodies were found Monday in Marawi. (4th Civil Relations Group, Civil Relations Service Armed Forces of the Philippines via AP)

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday declared a southern city ‘liberated from terrorists’ after a five-month battle against militants loyal to Islamic State. File photo: Reuters

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Troops prevailed in confrontation with gunmen who clung on to the end inside several buildings in the heart of southern town


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