After more than three weeks of pounding targets in the Islamic City of Marawi using withering heavy weapons and air strikes, the military believes the terrorist Maute Group has been substantially softened and the end to the standoff is not too far off now, so much so that on this Friday, not a single air strike needed to be scrambled.
For a change, a relative tranquility seemed to have taken over, punctuated only by sporadic exchanges on the ground as the government security forces carefully tightened the flanks around holdout enemy snipers in at least four residual enclaves.
These include some high buildings and key structures in built-up areas, according to the Joint Task Force Marawi spokesman, Lt. Col. Jo-Ar Herrera.
The government side also said the arrest of the parents of the Maute Group leaders dealt a big blow to their movement, particularly the matriarch Farhana, suspected to play a huge financial role.
On Thursday, a nephew of the Maute brothers was arrested in Cagayan de Oro City.
At latest count, the military indicated, the number of terrorists killed had reached 225.
Even as the top leaders, Isnilon Hapilon and Abdulah Maute, are believed to be still fighting in Marawi, the government side is of the belief that the end is near. “We are continuously moving forward to defeat the enemy,” said Herrera.
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