Financial markets withstand Islamic State clashes; Philippines says fight nearing end

MANILA (May 29): Philippine forces said they’re in control of most of Marawi, the southern city where almost 100 people were killed and 60,000 displaced following clashes in the past week between the military and Muslim extremists linked to Islamic State.

“Our ground commanders have assured that the end is almost there,” Brigadier General Restituto Padilla said in a televised briefing in Manila on Monday. Government troops are in control of Marawi “except in certain areas” that militants hold, making “surgical air strikes” necessary, he said.

The crisis has claimed the lives of 19 civilians, 18 government troops and 61 extremists, according to presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella, making it the worst in the Mindanao region in almost four years. Almost 400 residents were rescued from Marawi, the most crowded city in the autonomous Muslim area with a population of 200,000.

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