FBI confirms DNA sample matches Hapilon —Lorenzana

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has confirmed that the DNA samples it tested matches that of terrorist leader Isnilon Hapilon, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenza said on Saturday.

"We have received an official report that the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has confirmed that taken from a body receovered by our operating units in Marawi matches that of Isnilon Hapilon," Lorenzana said in a statement.

"This process of verification is also being conducted on the cadavers of other terrorists that have been recovered so far," he added.

READ: DNA test result ng US Federal Bureau of Investigation sa bangkay ni ASG leader Isnilon Hapilon, inilabas na. | via @divinereyes pic.twitter.com/MpeKVqYyOW

— DZBB Super Radyo (@dzbb) October 21, 2017

The confirmation came a day after the DNA samples of Marawi siege leaders Hapilon and Omar Maute were been sent to the FBI for testing.

Isnilon and Omar were killed in an early morning operation last Monday.

Omar was shot in the head by a government sniper while Isnilon died of gunshot wounds to his chest.

Hapilon and Maute have a P10 million and P5 million reward, respectively, on their heads from the government while the US government, through the FBI, has offered a $5 million reward for Isnilon’s apprehension or conviction.

President Rodrigo Duterte said Marawi City has been liberated from the terrorists following the confirmation of Hapilon and Omar’s deaths. This, even as pockets fighting remains in some parts of Marawi.

Early on Saturday, Western Mindanao Command's Lieutenant General Ernesto Galvez Jr. said that Marawi can be declared totally free from armed clashes on Sunday, as government troops took aim at only three buildings where the few remaining pro-ISIS terrorists are hiding, but still resisting. —John Ted Cordero/LBG, GMA News