The decapitated bodies of five civilians have been found in Marawi City, the military said yesterday, warning the number of residents killed by rebel “atrocities” could rise sharply as troops retake more ground.
The discovery would be the first evidence that civilians trapped in the besieged town have been decapitated, as some who escaped the city have previously reported.
The five decapitated people were found among 17 civilians killed by militants, Lieutenant Colonel Emmanuel Garcia of the Western Mindanao Command said in a text message to reporters.
Garcia did not respond immediately to repeated requests for more details. It was not clear when the bodies were found.
The battle for Marawi yesterday entered its 36th day, with intense gunfights and bombing in the heart of the town and black-clad fighters seen from afar running between buildings as explosions rang out.
Military spokesman Restituto Padilla said it was likely that many civilians had been killed and the death toll — which stood at 27 before the discovery of the 17 bodies — was only what the authorities could confirm independently.
He said a “significant number” of dead had been seen by those who had escaped fighting.
“[It] may increase significantly once we are able to validate all this information,” Padilla said. “There have been a significant number that have been seen, but again, we cannot include many of these.”
The cause of those deaths would be “atrocities committed by the terrorists,” he said.
Videos have appeared this month on the Web site of Islamic State’s Amaq news agency and its social media channels of hostages in Marawi pleading for their lives, saying they would be beheaded if air strikes were not stopped.
Clips have also appeared of people on their knees, shot in the head from behind.
Reporters were unable to confirm the authenticity of the reports.
The military has so far been reluctant to discuss the possibility that the real impact of the fighting on civilians could be far more severe than has been reported.
It has played down the impact of daily air strikes and mortar assaults aimed at rebel sniper positions, which have reduced areas of the lakeside town to rubble and alarmed people stuck there, some of whom have said the shelling was a bigger threat than the militants.
President Rodrigo Duterte said on Tuesday that he was prepared from the outset for a long fight against a well-armed Maute group motivated only by murder and destruction.
“It seems to be limitless supply. They were able to stockpile their arms,” he said. “Some of those who travelled to the Middle East got contaminated, brought the ideology back home and promised to declare war against humanity.”
Padilla called for patience and said troops needed more time to flush out the gunmen and secure the city.
“Our combat environment is sensitive. First, there are trapped civilians that we have to protect. They also have hostages and third, there are many traps so we have to clear buildings slowly,” he said.
About 71 security forces and 299 militants have been killed, and 246,000 people have been displaced in the conflict, which erupted after a failed attempt on May 23 to arrest Abu Sayyaf commander-in-chief Isnilon Hapilon, who is backed by Islamic State’s leadership.
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