MANILA, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- The Philippine military said on Friday that they found up to 15 bodies of Islamist extremists, firearms and unexploded explosives while clearing up a key neighborhood captured from the pro-Islamic State (IS) Maute militants in the southern city of Marawi.
The area includes the Bato mosque, a key stronghold of the Maute fighters that laid siege to the city on May 23.
The bodies were found while clearing the buildings around the Bato mosque block that extremists used as hideouts or base, according to Lt. Gen. Carlito Galvez, chief of the military's Western Mindanao Command.
"We have significantly cleared the whole block of Bato mosque and the different chambers wherein the bodies of the Maute members have been found," Galvez told a press conference in Marawi.
The ongoing fierce battle to recapture the city has resulted in the killings of 736 militants and 153 government security forces, according to Col. Romeo Brawner, the deputy commander of the military's Joint Task Force Ranao.
On a news conference in Marawi, Brawner also said that on the 130th day of the war the military has recovered a total of 709 high-powered firearms and 80 low-powered firearms.
He said the troops that conducted the mopping-up operation in and around the Bato mosque block also recovered at least six full sacks of coins and "assorted metal objects" that they suspect the terrorists use as shrapnel in making improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
"There have been instances in the past that our troops have been hit by cops," Brawner said.
Aside from the sacks of coins, Brawner said the troops also recovered 82 high-powered firearms, 62 unexploded ordnance and 20 IEDs from 36 buildings around the mosque during Thursday's clearing up operations.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte voiced hope on Thursday that troops would be able to "resolve" the conflict by the end of the month. Duterte echoed the statement of his defense secretary, Delfin Lorenzana, who said on Wednesday that the Marawi conflict may end this weekend.
