But as life and some traffic resumed in Marawi’s outskirts, the sounds of fighting rattled some who returned. He said 854 militants have now been killed in the fighting, which broke out on May 23, along with 163 soldiers and policemen and 47 civilians. Occasional bursts of gunfire and explosions sent clouds of smoke rising from the one-hectare (2.5-acre) area where soldiers said the remaining militants were hiding. Troops used megaphones to urge the remaining militants to give up. The surprise occupation of the city and the involvement of foreign fighters set off alarms in Southeast Asia and the West.

Source: National Post October 18, 2017 12:12 UTC