Putin condoles with Marawi clash victims

Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed his condolences to the victims of the firefight between the military and an ISIS-inspired group in Marawi City.

"I have to express our condolences as a matter of fact, loss of lives of your people happened because of a horrible terrorist attack. And my colleagues and myself definitely understand quite well that you do have to come back to return to your motherland,” he told President Rodrigo Duterte during their bilateral meeting in Kremlin on Tuesday night.

“And let me express hope that the conflict that you have just mentioned will be resolved as soon as possible and with minimal losses and casualties,” he added.

Duterte declared martial law in Mindanao after the Maute group attacked Marawi City that led to the deaths of a policeman and two soldiers. Twelve others were hurt.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana in a press briefing in Moscow, Russia said that the government security forces were in Marawi City to serve a warrant of arrest against Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon in Barangay Basak Malutlut in Marawi City. But they failed to anticipate that he was surrounded by around a hundred fighters.

"And I don’t think there is a lapse of intelligence. It’s just appreciation of the intelligence that was lacking there," he said.

"Baka hindi nila… Akala nila eh kayang-kaya but you know, it’s just… There’s intelligence there. It’s just the appreciation of what intelligence means that medyo nagkamali sila," he added. —KG, GMA News