Philippine military says it may break Islamist militants' siege of southern city soon
Thomson Reuters
MARAWI CITY, Philippines (Reuters) - The siege of Marawi City in the southern Philippines could be over soon because the logistics of the Islamist militants holed up there have been disrupted and they have been reduced to a "small resistance."
Major General Carlito Galvez, head of the military command in Western Mindanao region, told a news conference in Marawi City that troops had entered three areas from which the pro-Islamic State fighters had pulled back.
"We saw food, IEDs, mobility assets. Considering we have paralyzed logistics capability, we are looking at the possibility that the end will be near," he said.
He added that the military believed "more or less 100" civilians were still being held hostage by the militants.
(Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales; writing by John Chalmers)