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Local authorities in the southern Philippines say as many as 1,500 civilians remain trapped or held hostage in the besieged city of Marawi, as US special forces joined the ongoing military effort to help end the assault by Islamic militants.
Key points:
- Islamic State release audio calling on followers to launch attacks in Philippines
- US special forces are providing technical assistance to the military
- Bombs rock Marawi city as the flagged is raised for independence day
- President Duterte says he did not expect the battle to be this serious
The military are using fighter jets and helicopters to blast militants out of the city, on the island of Mindanao, which has been a warzone for three weeks.
Almost the entire population of about 200,000 have fled, but beyond the checkpoints fencing it off there are still hundreds of civilians who cannot get out due to the violence or are being held hostage.
Authorities have been trying to orchestrate a ceasefire to get the civilians out, officials said.
As of Saturday the number of security forces killed in the battle for Marawi stood at 58, while the death toll for civilians was 20 with more than 100 killed overall.
The seizure of Marawi by fighters allied to Islamic State, including some from the Middle East, has alarmed South-East Asian nations which fear the ultra-radical group — on a backfoot in Iraq and Syria — is trying to set up a stronghold on Mindanao that could threaten their region.
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte said on Sunday he had not expected the battle for Marawi to be as serious as it has turned out, adding that it had now emerged "that Baghdadi himself, the leader of the ISIS, has specifically ordered terroristic activities here in the Philippines".
On Tuesday, an audio message purporting to come from the spokesman of Islamic State called on followers to launch attacks in the Philippines during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which began in late May.
The audio clip was distributed on Islamic State's propaganda channel on Telegram, an encrypted messaging application.
US special forces assist Philippines military
Over the weekend, US special forces were confirmed to have joined Philippines troops to help end the siege, according to a US embassy spokesperson in Manila.
Philippine military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Jo-Ar Herrera confirmed the US special forces would be assisting local troops to end the siege, but only to provide technical support.
On Monday, bomb blasts continued to rock Marawi, as the national flag was raised to mark independence day.
Rescue workers, soldiers and firemen sang the national anthem and listened to speeches as three OV-10 attack aircraft darted through the cloudy sky, taking it in turns to drop bombs on areas where fighters are still holed up.
"To our Muslim brothers there, we want to tell them to stop their meaningless fight because we are all Muslims," vice provincial governor Mamintal Adiong Jr. told the gathering.
Flag ceremonies are normally performed twice a week, but this was the first in the mainly Muslim town since May 23, the first day of the siege, when the militants killed and abducted Christians, and torched a cathedral.
ABC/wires
Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, terrorism, philippines, asia