2 Maute stragglers, including Hapilon’s alleged right-hand man, killed in Marawi

Two Maute group members, one of them the alleged right-hand man of slain Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon, were killed as government troops continue to pursue the group's remnants in Marawi City, a military official said Thursday.

Two soldiers were also wounded in the encounter that took place inside the main battle area in Marawi City on Wednesday evening, according to Colonel Romeo Brawner Jr., deputy commander of Joint Task Force Ranao.

Brawner said one of the slain stragglers was Abu Talja, the alleged right-hand man of Hapilon, the designated ISIS emir in the Philippines.

He said the troops were able to recover the bodies of the two terrorists which are now being processed by the Philippine National Police-Scene of the Crime Operatives.

“This may be attributed to the close coordination of the civil authorities and the military and police forces on the ground,” he said of the military's latest accomplishment.

Brawner said the deaths of the two significantly reduced the ability of the remaining members of the Maute group to cause further harm and derail the ongoing return of the internally displaced persons to Marawi City.

He added normalization and rehabilitation efforts in war-torn city continue despite the ongoing clearing operations in the main battle area.  —KBK, GMA News