U.S. special forces are helping the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to end a siege of the southern town of Marawi by militants allied to Islamic State, a USA embassy spokesperson in Manila says.
The marines were conducting a house-to-house search for militants allied with Islamic State (IS) who are still occupying parts of Marawi when the battle erupted on Friday, said Lieutenant Colonel Jo-ar Herrera.
The US embassy in Manila and the Philippine military were quoted by the Reuters news agency Saturday as saying that US special operations forces were "assisting" in Marawi where 200,000 residents have been displaced by urban battles.
USA troops will not fight, but provide technical support, Philippines military say.
They are little more than boys, no different to look at from the skinny, sweet-faced teenagers to be seen in every Philippines town and village.
The deaths took to 58 the number of security forces killed, with 20 civilians and more than a hundred rebel fighters also killed in the Marawi fighting. That followed sightings on Friday of a US P3 Orion surveillance aircraft over Marawi.
The cooperation between the longtime allies is significant because President Rodrigo Duterte, who came to power a year ago, has taken a hostile stance towards Washington and has vowed to eject United States military trainers and advisers from his country.
Forty other marines were wounded, he said.
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The MWL also terminated the membership of Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader Yusuf Al-Qaradawi from its Islamic Fiqh Academy. Saudi Arabia is closing its border with Qatar, leaving citizens of the peninsula nation scrambling for food and supplies.
"We give premium to the mosques, because this is very symbolic to our Muslim brothers", Herrera said.
For the past 18 days, boys such as these and their adult commanders have occupied the centre of Marawi, a city of 221,000 people in the southern Philippines.
One of the main Islamist factions dug in around the heart of the city is the Maute group, a relative newcomer amid the throng of insurgents, separatists and bandits on Mindanao.
"We are saddened with the result. we have fatalities on the government side", he said.
There were "strong indications", he added, that two militant leaders might also have been killed.
The seizure of Marawi on May 23 by hundreds of fighters who have sworn allegiance to Islamic State, including dozens from neighbouring countries and the Middle East, has fuelled concern that the ultra-radical group is gaining a foothold in South-East Asia.
The Philippine military has said the aim was to end the siege by Monday, the Philippines' independence day.
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