MANILA, June 28 (Xinhua) -- The Philippine troops found 17 bodies of civilians on Wednesday allegedly killed by Islamist militants that overran a southern Philippine city of Marawi in Lanao del Sur province from May 23, a military spokesman said.
Lt. Col. Jo-Ar Herrera said the bodies were found around 11:20 a.m. local time (0320 GMT) on Wednesday in Gadungan village in Marawi city, a village previously held by the terrorists allied with Islamic State which is now under the control of the government.
They were apparently bodies of civilians trapped in the city as fighting and bombings intensified to retake the city.
"The recovered cadavers are believed to be among those civilians who were helplessly murdered by the Maute and Abu Sayyaf terrorists," Herrera said.
Herrera said the execution of the civilians "is a manifestation of the (terrorists') brutality."
He said police forensic experts were doing examinations to determine the identities of the victims, but the bodies were in an advanced state of decomposition, making it difficult for forensic experts to identify the victims.
He said retrieval operations were underway in villages previously held by the terrorists.
The battle to retake Marawi city entered its 36th day on Wednesday. Nearly 400 people, mostly militants, have been killed since the war broke out. The dead also included 71 soldiers and policemen, and 27 civilians.
As of Tuesday, Presidential Communications Office Assistant Secretary Marie Banaag said 1,711 trapped civilians have been rescued.
Fleeing residents have reported that they have seen people killed in the city.
Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla, spokesman of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, said the military has no idea when the deadly war will end. "We're not setting any deadlines because of the complexity of the combat environment," he said.
The government said that thousands have fled the city to avoid being caught in the crossfire, and are now housed in cramp evacuation centers around the province. Some of the evacuees were sick, aid agencies reported.
The attack prompted President Rodrigo Duterte to declare martial law in Mindanao region on May 23.
