Spokesperson of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Restituto Padilla (Source: http://cnnphilippines.com) Talking to the press in Marawi, Spokespersonof the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Restituto Padilla revealed that the local terror group was planning to destroy and spreadterror 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 moresophisticated 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 Catholicchurch in a Marawi, saying that it may be an attempt to fan hatred and turn theconflict into a religious war.
Militants aligned with the Islamic State group continue to control pockets ofterritory in the southern city, where they laid siege more than two weeks ago.
Violenceoccurred when heavily-armed militants attacked Marawi, a city of about 200,000people, as the military was searching for a leader of Abu Sayyaf hidden in thecity.
President Rodrigo Duterte quickly declaredmartial law in the southern region of Mindanao to quell what he said was afast-growing threat from the Islamic State (IS) there.-VNA
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