 |
| Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) |
MANILA, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said on Monday that nine soldiers were killed and 43 others wounded in "intense fighting" with Islamist militants in the southern Philippine Marawi City before the weekend.
Lorenzana said in a statement that Lt. Gen. Carlito Galvez, commanding general of the military's Western Mindanao Command, reported that the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) "sustained nine killed and 43 wounded in action in one of the most intense fighting yet in the (Marawi) conflict." War continues to rage in Marawi City 63 days after extremists allied with the Islamic State (IS) fighters seized the city. The protracted fighting has so far claimed more than 600 persons, including 105 soldiers and policemen.
Lorenzana did not give details of what he described as "intense fighting" that took place on Friday. But in a news story that came out in the Philippine Daily Inquirer Sunday night, Galvez was quoted as saying that militants slipped into the government security forces' position and lobbed hand grenades.
Read the full story at Xinhua