Firemen unable to put out fire in Marawi due to snipers

Fire broke out in a residential house in Barangay Saduc in Marawi City on Wednesday afternoon, but firemen could not put it out due to snipers, according to a report on Unang Balita on Thursday.

A drone video taken by GMA News showed the house still burning hours later.

Even houses in the safe zone are not spared frm fire. Authorities say this house in Brgy. Saduc may have been hit by a stray .50 cal. bullet pic.twitter.com/d5aGIa2ay6

— Raffy Tima (@raffytima) July 26, 2017

According to a report by Raffy Tima on Balitanghali on Thursday, the house was located in an area considered a safe zone, on the northern part of Marawi. It is outside the main battle area and about a kilometer away from the provincial capitol.

The house belongs to a rescuer of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office. Also burned were his two vehicles.

A possible stray .50-caliber bullet may have caused the fire.

Since the house is located within the line of sight of snipers, firemen had to wait for the go signal of the military before they approached the burning house.

The battle between government troops and the ISIS-linked Maute group entered its 65th day on Thursday.

Four bombing sorties have been conducted by the military on Thursday, which were followed by an intense exchange of gunfire.

A total of 109 government troopers and 458 members of Maute-ISIS have been killed in the ongoing battle so far.

Only three barangays in Marawi City are still held by the Maute-ISIS group. All these are in the center of the city.

According to the latest information gathered by the military, only 70 terrorists are left fighting.

The military has not allowed residents to go back to their residences even if there are areas already cleared, to ensure their safety. —KG/KVD, GMA News