(Eagle News)– Government troops have driven away bandits of Maute Group in Butig, Lanao del Sur after seven days of military operation.
Armed Forces spokesperson Restituto Padilla announced in a press conference that the town of Butig had been “100 percent cleared” and would be turned over to the local government.
Padilla also announced that a total of 61 members of the Maute group were killed, while 12 Maute members were wounded during the government offensives.
He said 35 soldiers were also wounded, including those who were injured during the roadside blast that hit the advance party of President Duterte in Marawi City.
Padilla also belied rumors and reports that the attack on the Presidential Security Group in Marawi was fake, as he enumerated the injuries sustained by the seven PSG men and two soldiers, the worst of whom suffered skull injuries that required expert medical treatment.
Padilla said the military is now concentrating on the outskirts of Butig to make sure that the Maute group would not be able to return.
“Concentrate ang military offensive natin sa labas ng munisipyo, para ganap nang maiiiwas natin ang mga Maute na nais bumalik sa lugar,” Padilla announced in a press conference Thursday.
He admitted that a Maute member was able to slip through the area and just left the improvised explosive device by the roadside where the President’s advance party would pass through.
“Nasingitan po tayo. Maaaring may sakay sa motor o sasakyan. Tinabi sa daan, at naniniwala kami na ito’y maaaring natrigger ng isang tawag sa telepono,” he said.
Padilla said the most affected by the fighting in Butig were the farmers who are now requesting the military to ensure security in the area.
“We are now paving the way for the turnover of these areas to the local government so that the local residents can be able to live there without fearing the return of these terrorist groups,” he said.
Padilla said there are measures being put in place and they are now studying whether to place permanent security in the area.
He explained that previous military men stationed in the area had to be recalled during the May 2016 elections to help in the security during the polls.
Meanwhile, Col. Roseller Murillo of the 103rd Army Brigade said that residents should stay in evacuation centers as the terrorists left booby-traps and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in areas they seized for a week.
An IED blast injured a soldier on Wednesday.
