Troops recover 60% of Maute Group’s occupied area in Butig

Government troops have already recovered 60 percent of the 10-hectare area in Butig, Lanao del Sur occupied by the Maute armed group on the sixth day of the firefight.

A report by Jun Veneracion on News To Go said troops were having a hard time advancing to the area due to the snipers deployed by the local armed group.

The retreating members of Maute group also left booby traps and improvised explosive device to delay the troops pursuing them.

The report said a video by the 49th Infantry Battalion of the 9th Infantry Division of Philippine Army showed how dangerous the mission of the troops were just to get near the local terrorist group in the poblacion of Butig.

Among the areas recovered by the soldiers were a Madrasah or Arabic school and a national high school.

The report said that troops will attempt to recovered the old municpal hall building from the Maute Group on Wednesday.

The bandit group replaced the Philippine flag with an ISIS banner at the old municipal hall.

As of Tuesday, the military said at least 40 members of Maute group have been killed while 20 government troops have been injured in the ongoing firefight.

The Army expects attacks by Maute Group members in other places to divert the attention of the troops from the operation.

The report said the ambush Tuesday on the advance party of President Rodrigo Duterte, who is set to go to the area Wednesday, by alleged sympathizers of Maute group was part of the diversionary tactic.

Nine were injured, including seven members of the Presidential Security Group, after they were hit by a roadside improvised explosive device in Marawi City on Tuesday. —Amita Legaspi/ALG, GMA News