MANILA, June 7 (Xinhua) -- The death toll in the ongoing clashes between government troops and Islamist militants in the southern Philippines has climbed to 193, a spokesman for the Armed Forces of the Philippines said on Wednesday.
Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla said that as of June 6 or 15 days after the fighting broke out, the military has recorded a total of 134 Maute militants, 39 troops, and 20 civilians.
The military said the remaining 100 or so militants are holed up in the city's financial district.
"They've established vintage points in the high ground areas. They've established sniper positions, that's why we cannot move easily with the fire shots. We're moving slowly," Padilla said.
Nevertheless, Padilla said the troops "are making headway" in their efforts to crush the remaining militants. "Their (the militants) world is getting smaller and smaller, and their ammunition is not in perpetuity, that's for sure," he said.
Lt. Gen. Carlito Galvez, commander of Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Western Mindanao Command, said the troops are very cautious in carrying out their operations to avoid casualties.
He told reporters the operation to flush out the remaining militants in the financial district is very critical for the troops, adding that the Maute militants are "well positioned" and fortified the area.
"That's a built-up area. If you enter the area unprepared, you are going to be ganged up. It's difficult," Galvez told reporters.
Asked if the military can retake the remaining Maute-controlled area this week, Galvez could not say for certain.
"Let's see. We cannot guarantee this because situations sometimes change. But at the rate we are going, we are okay," he said.
Gen. Eduardo Ano, AFP chief of staff, told a news conference in Iligan City that the militants have initially planned to control Marawi City by killing its people and then occupy nearby Iligan City.
"They want to establish an Islamic caliphate or Islamic State in Marawi City just like what the IS did when they captured Mosul in Iraq. They thought that the people of Marawi will join them, cheer them and accept them and these population will be part of Islamic State. But they underestimated that," Ano said.
"They (plan) to use a combination of force, intimidation, firepower in order to make the people follow them. That's why we are saying that this is a clear rebellion case, separating a part of our Philippine territory," he added.
Right now, he said the Maute militants are confined in a small area within the besieged city. "We have constricted them in one area, and that is exactly our strategy: to have one decisive battle against the Maute," Ano said.
Indeed, he said retaking the city from the militants is "very hard" because the military follow the rule of law. "We would like to destroy and defeat these Maute terrorists with minimum loss of innocent lives," Ano said.
Duterte placed Mindanao on May 23 in the southern Philippines under martial rule when Maute terrorists linked with the Islamic State occupied and torched a number of buildings in the city including a hospital and Catholic church.
Almost all of the more than 200,000 residents have fled the city to avoid getting caught in the crossfire. Most of the city is now in ruins as the conflict enters its third week.
