News Tonight

News Tonight

IS takes as slaves Philippines battle intensifies

By Katie Stallard, Asia Correspondent, in Marawi Five weeks ago, militants loyal to Islamic State seized large parts of Marawi City in the southern Philippines. As the conflict now enters its second month, government forces are still fighting to regain control. The rebels have lost ground, but remain entrenched in what was the commercial heart of the city, with hundreds of civilians feared to be trapped and hiding among them. Over four days in Marawi, Sky News watched the Philippine military carrying out repeated air strikes, bombers wheeling overhead and diving towards targets in the city.

The fighting is intense and sustained - mortars and helicopters mounted with machine guns are being used, as well as armored personnel carriers and ground troops. Train Philippine forces to combat rebel groups in jungle conditions, but here they are facing close quarters, urban warfare, fighting street-to-street, times and house-to-house. We saw armored vehicles reinforced with planks of wood by their crews in an improvised attempt to withstand anti-tank weaponry and rocket-propelled grenades fired by the militants. Sky News footage drone from inside rebel-held territory showed a mosque believed to be used as a base - local fighters are also said to have knowledge of bomb shelters and tunnel networks beneath the city. The mosque has not been targeted by Philippine forces, but whole streets around it have been flattened. We saw large fires burning in the ruins. One commanding officer told us some of the trapped civilians are being used as slaves and orderlies by the militants, with some being forced to wear black robes and act as human shields.

"Those hostages are being dressed, we have some visuals of this," Lt. Col. Christopher Tampus, commander of the 1st Infantry Battalion told us. "They are being dressed with a black robe-like. We believe these are civilians because we can easily see how they move." We set out to reach a family we had heard was still in touch with relatives trapped inside, but as we ran across the street to their house a bullet landed less than a meter from our team. It appeared we were being targeted.

It has a propaganda video which purportedly shows its militants in Marawi. A number of foreign fighters have been found among the dead. The longer the conflict goes on, the greater the danger will be more attracted to the cause from across the region and beyond. On Sunday, a temporary ceasefire was declared to mark the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, and allow what the military called a "humanitarian pause". A delegation of religious leaders and volunteers, armed only with megaphones, headed out across the front line to try to negotiate the release of some of the trapped civilians. But as we waited for news, a number of shots were fired into our street, forcing everyone to take cover behind parked cars. Three hours later, the rescue teams re-emerged, bringing with them a 14-month old girl and her mother, father, grandfather, and aunt. The family had hidden in their employer's basement for 33 days.

BATTLE IN Marawi City