More than 224,000 residents of the city and nearby towns have fled the fighting, the provincial government said Monday. The military has said it is firing artillery and rockets from the air, as well as dropping conventional bombs, as ground forces in armoured vehicles fight their way in dodging sniper fire, improvised explosives and anti-tank rockets.
7 other soldiers have been wounded, and the government is investigating the cause of the botched airstrike. The army estimated that around 2,000 civilians were still trapped in the capital of Lanao del Sur, in Muslim Mindanao.
Terrorists glorifying the Islamic State (IS) have killed at least 174 people including Christians in attacks on Marawi, Philippines, since May 23, the Fides Catholic news agency reported June 1.
Abu Sayyaf, a small but extremely brutal Islamist terrorist group, which has pledged loyalty to ISIS (the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) and has a history of kidnapping and executing foreigners, is also based in the Southern Philippines.
The ceasefire between the army and militants allied to so-called Islamic State (IS) had been reached through intermediaries.
Terrorists from other countries were among those killed by military forces in Marawi City, according to the Philippine government.
A fire blazed in one building moments after a plane dropped its payload. "There must be some mistake there", he said.
The petition filed by six House lawmakers led by Rep. Edcel Lagman said there was no revolution or invasion where public safety required the declaration of martial law and suspension of the writ of habeas corpus.
Padilla said the jet made three successful bombing runs before the wayward bombing happened.
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An additional 38 soldiers and police have also been killed along with 19 civilians, said officials.
The military has bombarded Marawi with air strikes and waged fierce street-to-street battles with hundreds of gunmen since they began a rampage through residential areas waving the black flags of ISIS.
The weapons, including machine guns capable of firing thousands of rounds a minute, were handed over at a ceremony in Manila that highlighted a decade-old American counter-terrorism assistance programme to the Philippines worth about US$150 million (RM639.8 million). The AFP says that eight terrorists affiliated with Maute have voluntarily surrendered and urged others to do the same or face certain death.
They believe that locally based Maute rebels attacked when officials there attempted to apprehend Isnilon Hapilon, the longtime leader of the Abu Sayyaf group, which normally operates in the southwest, far from Marawi.
He added the up to 100 fighters are "holed up" in "reinforced buildings" in an area of Marawi City.
A presidential spokesman said 120 fighters had died, along with 38 government forces.
Gen. Restituto Padilla, spokesperson for the Armed Forces of the Philippines, said on Wednesday.
On Sunday the Indonesian defence minister told an global security forum that there are about 1,200 Islamic State operatives in the Philippines, including foreigners of whom 40 are from Indonesia.
Due to the tragedy, Lorenzana said the government might suspend air strikes and "let ground troops do their thing".
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