Maute Nag offer ng Swap sa Priest na kanilang Bihag kapalit ng Magulang na hawak ng AFP
A leader of Islamic State (IS)-inspired terrorists holed up in Marawi City is willing to release a Catholic priest that his group is holding captive in exchange for the freedom of his parents and relatives captured by the military, an Inquirer source said on Monday.
The source, who went with emissaries to a meeting with Abdullah Maute during the eight-hour ceasefire enforced by the military on Sunday to allow residents of Marawi to celebrate the Muslim feast of Eid al-Fitr, quoted the terrorist leader as saying that his group was willing to withdraw from the city if the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) would intervene for an end to the crisis.
The source, who asked not to be named, said the gunmen from the Maute group and their allies from the Abu Sayyaf bandit group were unwilling to negotiate with the government.
A leader of Islamic State (IS)-inspired terrorists holed up in Marawi City is willing to release a Catholic priest that his group is holding captive in exchange for the freedom of his parents and relatives captured by the military, an Inquirer source said on Monday.
The source, who went with emissaries to a meeting with Abdullah Maute during the eight-hour ceasefire enforced by the military on Sunday to allow residents of Marawi to celebrate the Muslim feast of Eid al-Fitr, quoted the terrorist leader as saying that his group was willing to withdraw from the city if the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) would intervene for an end to the crisis.
The source, who asked not to be named, said the gunmen from the Maute group and their allies from the Abu Sayyaf bandit group were unwilling to negotiate with the government.
The seizure of Marawi has caused the biggest internal security crisis in decades for the Philippines, and a realization that the long-feared arrival of IS could be a reality.
Images of black-clad fighters and IS flags flying in Marawi has caused alarm in the mainly Roman Catholic nation, and the protracted occupation and presence of foreign fighters suggest that the terrorists may have bigger designs on the southern Philippines than previously imagined.
The daily airstrikes were halted on Sunday to allow residents of predominantly Muslim Marawi to celebrate the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, but small skirmishes took place as terrorist snipers fired intermittently on positions held by government troops.
Rescuers who entered the conflict zone with the emissaries managed to pluck out six civilians, according to presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella, who said on Monday that the “humanitarian pause” in the fighting was “generally peaceful.”
Abella said the body of a civilian killed by the terrorists was also recovered.
The MILF, which is working out a peace deal with the government, was involved in the rescue operation.
Source: Inquirer