Philippine troops assault militants blamed for bombing
Philippine troops, backed by bomber aircraft, have assaulted local sympathizers of ISIS, including dozens of militants who took cover Saturday in an unoccupied Islamic school in the south, military officials said.
Troops launched an assault on the Maute group militants in Butig on Thursday due to intelligence reports that they were continuing to make bombs after being blamed for a Sept. 2 bomb attack that killed 15 people in southern Davao city, the president's hometown, military spokesman Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla said.
Troops were also searching for two militant leaders, brothers Omarkhayam and Abdullah Maute, who were in charge of the group's armed force. Amid the military offensive, about 40 Maute militants took cover in a local Muslim school, locally known as madrasah, in Butig's Bayabao village. Air force choppers fired rockets and troops clashed with some of the militants in fighting that wounded two soldiers and wounded or killed an undetermined number of militants, military officials said.
