MANILA, Philippines — US Special Operations Forces are assisting the Filipino military in its battle against ISIS-affiliated fighters, the US Embassy in Manila said Saturday.

The forces have been deployed at the request of the government, the embassy said.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines have been slugging it out with Maute militants for control of Marawi, in the southern Mindanao region of the Philippines.

The embassy couldn’t give specifics on the specific nature of the US support for “security reasons.”

US Special Operations Forces “have been providing support and assistance in response to Philippine government requests for many years,” the embassy said.

“As we have in the past, we routinely consult with our Filipino partners at senior levels to support the Duterte administration’s counterterrorism efforts,” the embassy said, referring to President Rodrigo Duterte.

“The United States is a proud ally of the Philippines, and we will continue to work with the Philippines to address shared threats to the peace and security of our countries, including on counterterrorism issues.”

The fight against the ISIS-affiliated Maute militants is proceeding on social media as well as the ground.

The Filipino military has called on Facebook to close 63 accounts linked to ISIS-affiliated Maute militants engaged in the fighting.

In a press conference in Marawi on Friday, Lt. Col. Jo-Ar Herrera said the military had uncovered 63 specific accounts used by militants that focus on “spreading propaganda messaging and misinformation.”

Without confirming the specific request from the Philippines, a Facebook spokesman said the company has “well-established law enforcement channels for governments to contact us about emergencies.”

He stressed that Facebook does remove any account linked to “groups or people that engage in terrorist activity, or posts that express support for terrorism.”

The request to Facebook comes just before the military’s goal of liberating Marawi by June 12 — the country’s Independence Day. </s> The U.S. is reportedly preparing to conduct airstrikes against fighters linked to the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) in the Philippines, but Filipino officials deny knowing or having discussed any such plans.

The Pentagon was about to launch an official military operation that may be named as early as Tuesday, two defense officials told NBC News on Monday. The operations would bolster support for the Philippine army, which has been battling Islamist fighters linked to the Maute group and Abu Sayyaf militants since the end of May in the city of Marawi, on Mindanao island, in the southern part of the country.

However, multiple Filipino officials said they have no knowledge of such an operation. Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson met on Monday, but presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella told local media that they did not discuss the subject, and a spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense reiterated the matter had not been discussed.

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Separately, the Philippine Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Eduardo Año said such U.S. involvement in the fight in Marawi city would have to follow a specific process.

“A covenant must be had between the commanders in chief of both nations before that option may be adopted,” he said, quoted in local media. “Direct military actions may only be allowed during the actual invasion of the Philippines by another state actor,” he added, referring to the Mutual Defense Treaty regulating military collaboration between the U.S. and the Philippines, a former American colony.

The U.S. military first publicly acknowledged its involvement in military operations in the Philippines in June, saying that U.S. troops had been deployed at the request of Duterte—who subsequently denied knowing about the request or the troops’ presence.

The Americans have been assisting the Philippine military in the fight against Islamist militants since 2002, with the launch of the Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines, which saw up to 600 U.S. military personnel in the country. While the operation officially concluded in 2015, a number of personnel remained in the Philippines to advise and assist the local forces. Lieutenant Colonel Jo-Ar Herrera said in June that the U.S. forces newly deployed in June would not be fighting but instead “providing technical support.”

Speaking to the press on Monday, Tillerson said the U.S. military provided “information” and “surveillance capabilities.” “We’re providing them some training and some guidance in terms of how to deal with an enemy that fights in ways that is not like most people have ever had to deal with,” he said.

Tillerson also referenced the transfer of “a couple of” drones and two Cessna C-208B Grand Caravan Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance aircraft that were delivered on July 27 to an air base in Pasay City.

The transfers, a statement from the Department of Defense said, were part of $33 million package to “provide equipment and training to improve Philippine counter-terrorism response capability.”

The Philippine military has already conducted airstrikes against the militants, although at least one missed its target and ended up killing government troops instead.

As ISIS is driven out of its strongholds in Mosul in Iraq and Raqqa in Syria, the ongoing siege in Marawi has become the new object of the group’s propaganda and funding. A first video attempting to recruit fighters to go to the Philippines was released in June. The latest recruitment video specifically addressed Muslims in Australia, Australian media reported on Tuesday.

According to the Filipino military, nearly 700 people have died so far in the battle for Marawi city, now in its 12th week. Captain Jo-Ann Petinglay, Joint Task Force Marawi spokesperson, said at least 528 militants have been killed in the battle, as well as 122 government soldiers and 45 civilians, local media reported on Tuesday. </s> The operation to defeat an attempt to establish an Islamic State Caliphate in the Philippines suffered a major setback Tuesday as the nation’s air force conducted an airstrike that killed eleven of its own soldiers.

A Philippine military Marchetti S-211 jet bombed a tactical position in the southern city of Marawi, overrun with Islamic terrorists belonging to Abu Sayyaf and the Maute group – indigenous jihadist movements that have pledged allegiance to Islamic State caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi – on Wednesday. In one case, the airstrike successfully targeted a Maute group position. In the other, it landed on Manila’s own soldiers, killing eleven and injuring seven others.

“There were two planes flying. The first plane dropped the ordnance accurately, the second went wrong and hit our troops,” Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana explained at a press conference Thursday. “It’s painful, it’s very sad to be hitting our own troops. Sometimes, in the fog of war, a lot of things could happen.”

Lorenzana added that the failed airstrike was the first accident of its kind in the history of the Philippine air force and that the military would investigate what went wrong to prevent future incidents. It remains unclear whether the jet’s bombs landed on the wrong position or the ground troops had entered the location without updating those in the air, but Lorenzana said signs pointed to “pilot error.”

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) are considered ceasing airstrikes over Marawi because of the incident, but Lorenzana told reporters they had yet to make a decision, and the government would ultimately leave the decision at the hands of military commanders. Marawi is a densely populated city of 200,000 on the island of Mindanao, home to much of the nation’s Muslim majority. Its narrow streets and populated buildings have made the mission to eradicate ISIS elements especially difficult for Philippine soldiers without endangering the civilian population.

Manila’s official death count has surpassed 160 people, including 21 “state personnel” and 89 terrorists. The AFP says that eight terrorists affiliated with Maute have voluntarily surrendered and urged others to do the same or face certain death. “These individuals have been talked to and debriefed and have provided very, very valuable intelligence,” spokesman Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla said. He added that only about ten percent of the city’s territory is controlled by ISIS terrorists.

President Rodrigo Duterte announced a 60-day period of martial law over all of Mindanao last week in response to the ISIS attack, urging residents to evacuate. Eyewitnesses who fled the scene have told reporters that ISIS terrorists, many of them as young as thirteen, are forcing civilians to recite Islamic prayers or be killed. The discovery of a pile of bodies labeled “munafiq,” or “hypocrite,” suggest that the terrorists, in an attempt to purify the population, are killing Muslims who do not properly answer their religious questions. Eyewitnesses have said that Muslims are fleeing along with Christians and have taught Islamic prayers to Christians to protect them in the event of their capture.

While Maute and Abu Sayyaf are indigenous jihadist groups, Duterte announced Thursday that evidence suggests that the Marawi siege is a “purely ISIS” attack led by foreign fighters. “The rebellion in Mindanao, it’s not Maute,” he insisted. “The Marawi siege has long been planned. It could not be just a decision to ‘let’s go to Mindanao.’” Among the foreigners, according to Lorenzana, were Saudi, Yemeni, and Russian fighters.

The attack began last week as the Philippine police attempted to raid the hideout of Isnilon Hapilon, the head of Abu Sayyaf. Duterte’s government insists the attack was planned long before then, however. Duterte’s government has used the foreign nature of the invasion to attract support from indigenous Islamic groups. As Duterte spent more than two decades as mayor of Mindanao’s Davao City, he boasts friendly ties with separatist groups like the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), who view him as more sympathetic to their concerns than the political elites from the nation’s north. Reports began to surface Wednesday that MILF and MNLF fighters had joined Philippine soldiers in fighting ISIS in Marawi. </s> The U.S. has been providing support to the Philippines in its fight against pro-ISIS militants who have besieged the southern city of Marawi and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Monday said the military has provided aircraft, a few drones, surveillance capabilities, intel and training.

The Pentagon is considering a plan that allows the US military to conduct airstrikes on ISIS in the Philippines.

“Direct military actions may only be allowed during the actual invasion of the Philippines by another state actor”, he added, referring to the Mutual Defense Treaty regulating military collaboration between the USA and the Philippines, a former American colony.

“Both officials, however, expressed their appreciation for the reported desire of the U.S.to help the Philippines fight Daesh/ISIS-inspired terrorists groups locally”, the DND added. It added that the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) also states that no such discussions have occurred at their level.

A militant group, however, slammed proposals for US-led airstrikes in the country.

According to the department of defense, the U.S. would allow the military to use armed drones against ISIS.

The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan said such airstrikes “will violate our national sovereignty and will run counter to the constitutional ban on foreign troops participating in combat operations in the Philippines”.

Armed Forces chief Gen. Eduardo Año said the military has “yet to receive any formal notice or offer for such air capability deployment”.

Once the United States military receives the approval to perform airstrikes against the existing ISIS targets in the Philippines, they will be able to help the Philippine army who are battling the terrorist group on the ground.

But he did say the US has been providing “some training and some guidance” to the Philippines in its fight against ISIS.

“A covenant must be had between the commanders in chief of both nations before that option may be adopted”, he said, quoted in local media. </s> MANILA Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte cut short a visit to Russia and imposed martial law on the island of Mindanao on Tuesday after a fierce bout of fighting erupted during a raid by security forces at a hideout of Islamic State-linked militants.Two soldiers and a policeman were killed and 12 wounded amid chaos in Marawi, a predominantly Muslim city of about 200,000 people, where members of the Maute militant group took control of buildings and set fire to a school, a church and a detention facility.Duterte, a native of Mindanao, cancelled a meeting set for Wednesday with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. Tass news agency said President Vladimir Putin would see him before his departure Tuesday night, instead of on Thursday as planned. "The government is in full control of the situation and is fully aware that the Maute/ISIS and similar groups have the capability, though limited, to disturb the peace," presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella told a news conference in Moscow.The Maute and Abu Sayyaf militant groups have pledged allegiance to Islamic State, also known as ISIS, and have proved fierce opponents for the military as Duterte seeks to crush extremists and prevent radical Islamist ideology from spreading in the Philippines.Abella said the militants "have shown no hesitation in causing havoc, taking innocent lives and destroying property."Duterte has warned repeatedly that Mindanao, an impoverished, restive region the size of South Korea, was at risk of "contamination" by Islamic State fighters driven out of Iraq and Syria.

Brigadier General Rolando Bautista, commander of the Philippines' First Infantry Division, said security forces were trying to locate militants who had scattered everywhere and were blocking reinforcements from arriving."There are more or less 100, divided into groups of 10 in different locations," Bautista told news channel ANC."Since they are advocating ISIS ideology they have to show ISIS that they are a force to be reckoned with."

FIERCE FIGHTERS

 Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said and some 1,000 soldiers would be in Marawi by morning, but warned civilians to stay in their homes."There are Maute snipers all around, so the troops are still holding and elements have already joined," he said.The purpose of Tuesday's raid was to capture Isnilon Hapilon, a leader of the Abu Sayyaf group which is notorious for piracy and for kidnapping and beheading Westerners. The U.S. State Department has offered a bounty of up to $5 million for Hapilon's arrest.

The military has not explained how the raid on an apartment turned into urban warfare that was still raging 12 hours later.The incident highlights the challenges facing Duterte, who has pleaded with separatists and moderate Muslims in the predominantly Catholic nation to shun Abu Sayyaf and Maute. He has threatened several times to declare martial law in Mindanano, and deliver a "harsh" crackdown. Martial law will apply for 60 days.The government has blamed the Maute for a bombing in September 2016 at a street market in Duterte's hometown of Davao City, which killed 14 people and wounded dozens.Maute fighters took over a disused building in the region in November and endured five days of military air and ground assaults before fleeing, with 61 fighters killed. (Editing by Mark TrevelyanEditing by Mark Trevelyan)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. </s> The US military is reportedly contemplating on a plan that could allow them to hold several airstrikes on ISIS members who are operating in the Philippines.

In an interview with NBC News, two defense officials claimed that the authority to strike down the ISIS targets in the southern Philippine city of Marawi might be granted Tuesday. Armed drones might be used to execute the planned airstrikes.

Once the US military receives the approval to perform airstrikes against the existing ISIS targets in the Philippines, they will be able to help the Philippine army who are battling the terrorist group on the ground.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson who dropped by Manila on Monday to talk to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte revealed that they will provide the local government with intelligence reports that will help them win the war against the ISIS.

"We're providing them some training and some guidance in terms of how to deal with an enemy that fights in ways that are not like most people have ever had to deal with," Tillerson stated. "I see no conflict at all in our helping them with that situation and our views of other human rights concerns we have with respect to how they carry out their counternarcotics activities."

Aside from their activities in the Philippines, other ISIS members reportedly joined forces with Taliban fighters in northern Afghanistan in a latest attack that killed dozens of soldiers and civilians on Sunday, Aug. 6.

According to reports, several Taliban soldiers planned the attack with local commander Sher Mohammed Ghazanfar who pledged allegiance to the Islamic State to take over he Mirza Olang area.

Reports cited the statement of Sayad district governor Sharif Aminyar, who claimed that a total of 50 people were killed during the attack. The number includes 18 members of the Afghan Local Police, while the rest were innocent civilians.

However, a Taliban spokesperson named Zabihullah Mujahid denied the claims that they are working with the ISIS. He also claimed that there are no civilian casualties during the attack. </s> Officials Say New Operation Could Be Announced Any Day Now

Pentagon officials say a discussion is ongoing about the possibility of granting US forces in the Philippine authority to conduct airstrikes against the nation’s ISIS affiliate, and that the announcement and naming of the new operation could happen within the next 24 hours.

ISIS affiliates have been active in the southern Philippines in recent months, seizing the city of Marawi and leading to a protracted battle with the Philippine military, which the US has been participating in in a limited role.

The US is always keen for deeper military involvement in the Philippines, especially as President Duterte was until very recently talking about his interest in getting the US military out of his country entirely. This could be just the pretext to get the US dug in even deeper.

Duterte had been courting ties with Russia and China, but now seems to be committed to the US, greeting Secretary of State Rex Tillerson by declaring himself to be America’s “humble friend in Southeast Asia.”
• Pentagon May Allow South Korea to Have Better Missiles - August 7th, 2017
• Lebanese Military: No Coordination With Syria in Anti-ISIS Push - August 6th, 2017 </s> SINGAPORE – United States special forces joined the Philippine army to help end a siege in Marawi by Islamic State-linked militant groups, as a drawn-out battle for control of the southern Philippines city nears the end of a third week.

 

 On Friday, 13 Philippine marines were killed and 40 wounded in house-to-house combat during clearing operations, a Philippine military spokesman said.

 

 "At the request of the government of the Philippines, U.S. special operations forces are assisting the (Armed Forces of the Philippines) with ongoing operations in Marawi that help AFP commanders on the ground in their fight against Maute and ASG militants," the U.S. Embassy in Manila said in a statement.

 

 “The United States is a proud ally of the Philippines, and we will continue to work with the Philippines to address shared threats to the peace and security of our countries, including on counterterrorism issues,” the statement said.

 

 The Maute group, also known as Islamic State Lanao, led the attack on Marawi which began on May 23 and has resulted in the deaths of 58 security forces, 20 civilians and around 138 militant fighters.

 

 ASG stands for the Abu Sayyaf Group, another militant group involved in the Marawi fighting.

 

 U.S. special forces were assisting the Philippines, but they were not putting boots on the ground, a Philippine military spokesperson confirmed.

 

 "They are not fighting. They are just providing technical support," said military spokesman Lt. Col. Jo-Ar Herrera at a news conference in Marawi.

 

 Video footage from Philippine news channel ABS-CBN News showed a US PS Orion intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance aircraft flying over Marawi on Friday.

 

 Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law on the island of Mindanao, where Marawi is located, on May 24, citing the rising threat of the Islamic State, also known as ISIS.

 

 “We are in a state of emergency,” Duterte said. “I have a serious problem in Mindanao and the ISIS footprints are everywhere.”

 

 Since taking office last year, Duterte has sought to limit military cooperation with the U.S., scaling back joint military exercises and canceling plans for joint maritime patrols, while pushing for closer relations with China and Russia.

 

 More than 200,000 residents have been displaced from Marawi since the fighting began. The militants control an area of the city with about 2,000 hostages.

 

 Col. Herrera told reporters the militants were entrenched in a mosque and using hostages as human shields, making it harder for security forces to carry out attacks. </s> Washington may launch a military operation that would allow the US military to conduct airstrikes against the Islamic State (IS, banned in Russia) positions in the Philippines, media reported, citing two defense officials.

According to the NBC broadcaster’s Monday report, the plan to start the operation, which is currently being considered by the US Department of Defense, may be announced later in the day.

The broadcaster also noted that the airstrikes are likely to be carried out by drones.

In the event the plan is approved, US servicemen will be authorized to attack militants who threaten US allies in the region, which include the Philippine Armed Forces that fight the IS threat on the ground.

The broadcaster cited Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis as saying that Washington and Manila has been sharing intelligence for quite some time, and that the Philippines has for 15 years been hosting US servicemen who support the state in its counterterrorism efforts.

In late July, the United States supplied the Philippines with two new Cessna 208B Grand Caravan intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft, 1,040 rocket motors and 992 rockets to fight against terror. In addition, Manila is expected to receive 250 rocket-propelled grenade launchers from Washington.

On May 25, Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law on the southern island of Mindanao, which is often subjected to attacks by IS-linked terror groups. Marawi has remained the primary hotspot ever since the Maute group attempted to storm the city.
The Pentagon is considering conducting airstrikes in Marawi, which if approved would later put U.S. troops on the ground to battle the ISIS-affiliated Maute group as well as related Islamist terror groups. A spokesperson later denied the claims as well as clarified that the Philippines has yet to make a request.