The Battle Against ISIS For The Philippine City Of Marawi

Joseph Hincks, Time: The Battle For Marawi City

What the siege of a Philippine city reveals about ISIS’ deadly new front in Asia

On what was to be her wedding day, Stephanie Villarosa ate chocolate-flavored rice porridge out of a styrofoam cup. Under normal circumstances—rings exchanged, fidelity promised, bride kissed—she and her family would have been feasting on lechón, roasted suckling pig, a delicacy in her fiancé’s hometown of Iligan City on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao. Instead, Villarosa was huddled on an institutional plastic chair 38 km south of Iligan, inside Marawi City’s provincial government building. Outside, sniper fire crackled over the mosque-dotted hills to the east and military FA50 fighter jets thundered overhead. Wedding or no, the porridge was nourishing, and Villarosa was happy: “God is good. Today we survived.”

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More News On The Battle Against ISIS For The Philippine City Of Marawi

Residents fleeing Marawi saw around 100 bodies, Philippines official says -- CNN
In battle for Marawi, troops pinned down by sniper fire, Molotov cocktails -- GMA
Philippines claims control of 90 percent of Marawi -- Al Jazeera
Hundreds killed in Marawi City -- SKY News
AFP: Some Maute members may have left Marawi -- Phil Star
Philippines says some militants may have slipped out of embattled city -- Reuters
AFP finds lapses by troops in clashes with Marawi terrorists -- Inquirer.net
Marawi siege expected to be protracted: Security source -- Channel News Asia
Amid Ongoing Violence In Marawi, A Journalist Takes A Bullet -- NPR