MANILA, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- Philippine media reported on Monday that two top leaders of pro-Islamic State (IS) militant groups that laid siege to the southern Philippine city of Marawi had been killed.
A local TV showed a black and white picture of purportedly the body of Isnilon Hapilon, the alleged emir of the IS in Southeast Asia. But the military said they could not confirm the reports yet.
Maj. Gen. Resituto Padilla, spokesman of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), said they could not confirm the death of the two militant leaders yet.
"We have not received any confirmation that this is true. We are working to get that confirmation but we cannot press our troops on the ground because they are still fighting it out with the enemy and the fighting remains intense," Padilla said.
Col. Edgard Arevalo, AFP public affairs chief, said that they had received the same information but could not immediately confirm the reports.
"We have received field reports stating that Isnilon Hapilon and Omarkhayam Maute are dead. But we cannot issue any official statement yet pending the confirmation of such report," Arevalo said.
He said the AFP "will issue appropriate statements related to this soon." Meantime, he added that "our units in the frontline are continuing with their offensives to neutralize the remaining terrorists and rescue their hostages to end the crisis in Marawi."
The military said Isnilon Hapilon is allegedly the emir of the international jihadist group IS in Southeast Asia. He reportedly left his lair in Basilan, an island province off Mindanao, last year to join the Maute Group in Lanao del Sur in Mindanao, where Omar and his brother Adbullah are based.
On May 23, Hapilon and the Maute brothers led the attack on Marawi that has dragged on for nearly five months.
The government said at least 1,066 people have been killed, including 822 militants and 162 government forces. More than 1,700 soldiers and policemen have also been wounded in action, it said.
The 147-day conflict has also displaced the city's more than 200,000 residents and about 300,000 more outside Marawi City, the capital of Lanao del Sur province.
The military said at least 47 civilians have been killed by the terrorists. Thousands of evacuees are still housed in the centers.
The militants have also taken several residents hostage and used them as shield or fighters during the months-long fighting, the military claimed.
