Soldier killed by sniper fire in Marawi — AFP spokesman

 Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesperson Major General Restituto Padilla Jr. said a soldier was killed by sniper fire in Marawi City Friday morning.

“Early this morning, we had an incident when we were operating in an area and incurred another casualty through a sniper fire,” Padilla said during the Mindanao Hour in Malacañang.

Padilla did not provide any more details about the incident.

“And it’s a sad development because we were expecting that as we engage more in these remaining areas and have better control of the peripheral areas in and out of this area, we’d be able to minimize that,” he said.

“But unfortunately, we still face a very tenacious enemy who is determined to defend their area,” he added.

Assistant to the presidential spokesperson China Jocson said that as of October 5, a total of 155 government troops have been killed in the protracted Marawi crisis.

So far, 753 Maute fighters and their allies have been killed.

Among the civilians, 47 were killed and 1750 were rescued.

It has been over four months since pro-ISIS Maute group attacked Marawi City, prompting President Rodrigo Duterte to declare martial law in Mindanao. Congress has extended the imposition of martial law until end of 2017.

While the commander-in-chief kept saying the end in the crisis is near, Padilla said they need to ensure the safety of around 40 hostages held by the around 40 to 50 members of the group.

“Ito po ang nagiging rason kaya hindi kami nagbabanggit ng takdang araw, takdang petsa o panahon kung kailan magtatapos ang ating bakbakan diyan sa loob ng Marawi. Pero sinisikap po nating gawin ‘yan sa pinakamadaling panahon,” he said.