Spokesperson of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Restituto Padilla (Source: http://cnnphilippines.com) Talking to the press in Marawi, Spokesperson of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Restituto Padilla revealed that the local terror group was planning to destroy and spread terror in Marawi but the military was able to prevent it from happening.
Terrorists planned to carry out a bigger attack in the city with a more sophisticated level than that on May 23.
The same day, the Armed Forces requested social media companies, including Facebook to remove a video of militants smashing icons in a Catholic church in a Marawi, saying that it may be an attempt to fan hatred and turn the conflict into a religious war.
Militants aligned with the Islamic State group continue to control pockets of territory in the southern city, where they laid siege more than two weeks ago.
Violence occurred when heavily-armed militants attacked Marawi, a city of about 200,000 people, as the military was searching for a leader of Abu Sayyaf hidden in the city.
President Rodrigo Duterte quickly declared martial law in the southern region of Mindanao to quell what he said was a fast-growing threat from the Islamic State (IS) there.-VNA
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