COMPLETELY DESTROYED, RUINED - that is what left of the heart of Marawi City after the five-month-long armed conflict between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and local terrorists affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), including the Maute and the Abu Sayyaf groups.
The Marawi siege which started on May 23, 2017 claimed more than a thousand lives (mostly from the militants) and flattened much of Marawi City. It was described as the heaviest urban fighting in the Philippines since World War II.
The following are pictures from the heart of Marawi City, now called the Main Battle Area, taken five months after its liberation was declared..
The Marawi siege which started on May 23, 2017 claimed more than a thousand lives (mostly from the militants) and flattened much of Marawi City. It was described as the heaviest urban fighting in the Philippines since World War II.
The following are pictures from the heart of Marawi City, now called the Main Battle Area, taken five months after its liberation was declared..
