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Marawi [Philippines]: Two major ISIS-affliated leaders Isnilon Hapilon and Omar Maute, of the Maute group, were killed in a battle with the Philippine forces in the southern city of Marawi. The government forces killed the two terrorist leaders linked to Islamic State in the Marawi city, signalling the end of the crisis, Defence chief Delfin Lorenzana said. "Two key ISIS-affiliated leaders engaged in a stand-off with the Philippine forces in the southern city of Marawi have been killed. The two leaders were named as Isnilon Hapilon, who was declared terror group's emir for the Southeast Asia, and Omar Maute, a...

The president of the Philippines is singing America’s praises for its assistance in the fight against the Islamic State — the exact opposite of what was being said around this time last year. Muslim militants with direct ties to ISIS overran Marawi, a city in the southern Philippines, in late May. Since the radicals first raised the black ISIS standard above the city four months ago, hundreds, possibly thousands, of people have been killed, and hundreds of thousands have been displaced. Efforts to liberate the city from the radical Islamic terrorists are ongoing. The Trump administration has been, from the...

The Vatican has called an ISIS terrorist video from the Philippines threatening the life of the pope "worrying" and made vague statements about security being in ready to halt the potential attack. Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Holy See's No. 2 official, said he has seen the video of militants desecrating Christian statues and threatening the pope by saying they'll come to Rome, as they tear in half photos of him and his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI. The video was mostly filmed in the Philippines, where ISIS has been clashing with government forces for control of the city...

During its takeover of the city, ISIS took Christians hostage and later executed them. The organization reported on the execution of these "belligerent Christians" in Issue 10 of its English-language magazine Rumiyah, released June 7. On June 12 it also published a video allegedly showing the execution of Christians from Marawi.[2] Another ISIS video showed its fighters destroying a Catholic church in the city. ISIS fighters are shown destroying icons, statues and crucifixes and tearing up pictures of the Pope before setting fire to the church. To see a MEMRI TV Clip of excerpts from the video, click on the...

MARAWI, Philippines — American troops are on the ground in the embattled southern Philippine city of Marawi, where the Philippine military is battling Islamic State-linked militants for control, a Philippine military spokesman said on Wednesday. The spokesman, Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla, said that the American forces were not engaged in combat, but his statement was the first official confirmation of the American military presence in Marawi. Philippine and American officials have previously said that United States Special Operations forces were providing military assistance in the battle for the city, but American officials have not said from where, and Philippine officials...

Senior military officials told reporters that they believed the militants were hiding in an extensive network of underground shelters, built years ago. "There are underground tunnels and basements that even a 500-pounder (bomb) cannot destroy," said Maj Gen Carlito Galvez, head of the military command in the Western Mindanao region. Government and military estimates on the number of militants left in Marawi have ranged from 40 to 200. ... The militants were also apparently well-prepared for a possible siege, and had placed supplies in mosques and religious schools - which are off-limits for air strikes - days before seizing the...

Philippine troops battled heavily armed militants backing the Islamic State group in a southern city Tuesday, as months of sporadic fighting in the countryside shifted alarmingly into an urban area. Regional military spokesman Lt. Col. Joar Herrera said five government personnel were wounded in the clash with at least 15 fighters from a Muslim rebel group called Maute in the village of Basak Malutlut in Marawi, a bustling predominantly Muslim city in Lanao del Sur province. Troops and special police forces attacked an apartment after the military obtained intelligence that Maute gunmen were hiding there with a top terror suspect,...

HEFER VALLEY, Israel — The new crisp, acidic and mineral white from a high-end Israeli winery was aged for eight months — or, depending on how you look at it, at least 1,800 years. The wine, called marawi and released last month by Recanati Winery, is the first commercially produced by Israel’s growing modern industry from indigenous grapes. It grew out of a groundbreaking project at Ariel University in the occupied West Bank that aims to use DNA testing to identify — and recreate — ancient wines drunk by the likes of King David and Jesus Christ. Eliyashiv Drori, the...

COTABATO CITY -- Alleged Indonesian terrorists Dulmatin and Omar Patek were reportedly sighted in Lanao del Sur province last week, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao police chief said Tuesday. Senior Superintendent Akmad Mamalinta said the two were seen in the company of Muslim gunmen near Marawi City. Mamalinta said they would track down the two Indonesians, reportedly bomb experts from the regional terror group Jemaah Islamiyah. Copyright 2005 Inquirer News Service. All rights reserved.