By Patricia Lourdes Viray
MANILA, Philippines — Islamic State-inspired local terror groups planned to burn down the entire Marawi City as a precursor of uprisings across Mindanao, according to the chief state lawyer.
Solicitor General Jose Calida said that the Maute group was supposed to burn down the city of Marawi on May 26, the start of Ramadan.
"The said attack would have served as the precursor for other rebel groups to stage their own uprisings across Mindanao in a bid to simultaneously establish a wilayah in the region," Calida said in his consolidated comment the petitions against the declaration of martial law in Mindanao.
The statement indicates that the Duterte administration was aware of the plans of the Maute group, a self-proclaimed affiliate of the Syria-based ISIS, to occupy Marawi days before the attack on May 23.
Read the full story at PhilStar