5 more bodies recovered following clash that killed Hapilon, Maute —Año

Aside from the corpses of Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon and Maute leader Omar Maute, government troops also recovered five more bodies following the early Monday morning assault in Marawi City, the military said.

"Ang nare-recover namin ngayon [ay] seven cadavers,"  said Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief General Eduardo Año. "We're still clearing the area."

He said the initial target of the troops was the rescue of hostages which resulted in the heavy firefight that lasted for almost four hours.

"Actually ang purpose ng tropa natin is to rescue the hostages, kasi naipon na natin sila sa isang block lang, dalawang building ‘yung kinalalagyan, so yung mga hostages ang inire-rescue then nagkaroon ng bakbakan dun, kasamang napatay yung dalawa," Año said, referring to Hapilon and Maute.

"Matinding bakbakan talaga. Kumbaga final stand nila," he added.

The assault started around 2 a.m. and ended around 6 a.m. Año
refused to give further details as the operation was still ongoing as of Monday afternoon.

Año said despite the government troops getting the upper hand in the operation, they would continue the assault until the last Maute member is neutralized and the last hostage is rescued.

"Hindi pa tayo pwedeng magkumpyansa kaya kailangang tuloy-tuloy pa rin ito until we get the last terrorist and will rescue the last hostage," he said.

With Hapilon and Maute dead, Año believes the ISIS-inspired Maute terrorist group, which attacked Marawi City in late May resulting the months-long armed conflict, has met its end.

“This is the end of this Maute group," Año said. "Ibig sabihin n’un ito yung center of gravity nila, crumble na ‘yan lahat."

In a press statement, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said they will announce the termination of hostilities once government forces have ensured that there are no more terrorists-stragglers in Marawi and they have cleared all structures of improvised explosive device and other traps.

“After the fighting stops, we will refocus our efforts on the challenging task of rebuilding and rehabilitating Marawi,” he said.

The Marawi firefight started on May 23 when authorities tried to arrest Hapilon in Marawi.  Hapilon is the believed to be a leader of ISIS in Southeast Asia. —KBK, GMA News