Reports reaching Manila on Friday indicated that more than 30 militants and followers of the terrorist Maute Group were killed on the third day of the standoff in Marawi City.
This was the day the government security forces launched a tactical offensive to flush the Amai Pakpak Medical Center of Maute holdouts in that part of the city.
The band of the bandits had forced their way into the hospital compound Tuesday, but the military was able to retake the facility, which is a vital cog in the provision of medical and health services for those wounded in the wake of the intense fighting that has been going on in the middle of the city.
Security was so tight that the news team from TV5 was not allowed inside, even as mopping up operations were being carried out to make sure the place is free of potential booby traps left behind by the terrorists.
Soldiers moved around deliberately, gingerly, exercising extreme caution. The place was errily silent, as though completely deserted.
The troops pointed at a quadrant where they said they believed a residual presence of enemy snipers could be hiding, which largely explained the rather strict caution against moving about the compound.
The News5 team joined a sortie, moving along with scores of soldiers in one loose but alert column reinforced by armored personnel carriers, on yet another street clearing mission, on foot and peppered with sporadic exchanges of fire as servicemen in full battle gear advanced step by cautious step and weapons at the ready covering 360 degrees.
The streets were emptied and silent. Only the exchange of angry gunshots pierced the air.
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