By FROILAN GALLARDO
Special Correspondent
MARAWI City – Authorities here buried 40 bodies of what were believed to be mostly Isis-Maute fighters who were killed in the four-months fighting in Marawi City.
Col. Romeo Brawner, deputy commander of Task Force Ranao, said 25 of the remains were believed to be Isis-Maute fighters killed in the operations to retake Marawi City.
He said 15 of the bodies were recovered around the Dansalan College and the Bato mosque where government troops encountered the fiercest resistance from the fighters.
“Many of them were found wearing black shirts and have ammo bandoliers indicating most likely they were Isis-Maute fighters,” Brawner said.
Amer Rashid Mindalano, head of the Marawi City Disaster Risk Reduction, said the Malaysian embassy sent them a copy of a picture of Dr. Mahmud Ahmad, a known militant.
“It was an unofficial request to identify if the Malaysian militant was among those killed,” he said.
Mindalano said they failed to identify Ahmad because the bodies were beyond recognition.
Forensic experts from the PNP Crime Laboratory conducted DNA tests on the bodies in the past two days.
“The tests found most of the bodies have battle wounds,” Mindalano said
The bodies were buried at Magbarah Muslim public cemetery in Barangay Papandan, Marawi City where 54 other persons also killed in the fighting were buried.
Disclaimer
Mindanao Gold Star Daily holds the copyrights of all articles and photos in perpetuity. Any unauthorized reproduction in any platform, electronic and hardcopy, shall be liable for copyright infringement under the Intellectual Property Rights Law of the Philippines.
