The Philippines are under a massive terrorist attack. Militants, pledging their loyalty to ISIS, a banned formation in Russia, took over an entire city in the southern province of Mindanao. President Rodrigo Duterte has declared a military emergency in the region, and had to cut his visit to Moscow short. During his meeting with Vladimir Putin, which took place almost 2 days earlier than scheduled, the terrorism topic was one of the main ones. The Philippine leader asked to supply top-of-the-line weapons. Anton Lyadov reports why he had to leave early.
One of the locals is hiding behind the fence, hands shaking, camera unsteady. The militants just broke into the city. People barricade themselves wherever they can — in stores, at home. Militants break into a school, and take the teachers hostage. They take over a church with the priest and the parishioners inside. They said they'd kill everyone if the government doesn't surrender.
Black flags, the signs of ISIS, are hanging out of the cars. The Caliphate capital, Raqqa, is about 8,000 km from here. That's 9 hours on a plane. President Rodrigo Duterte sends the so-called death squads to the region.
I suppose they beheaded the young Chief of Police of Malabang right at his position. I will not allow this country to fall into the abyss. As I said, the army plays a great role in maintaining public order in the Republic of the Philippines. The militants obviously waited to strike when President Duterte was out of the country. We contacted one of the witnesses. He asked to remain anonymous, because ISIS militants will hunt down anybody, who reveals any information about them. They burned down several cars. And last night I saw burnt down houses, a school, and a prison of Marawi. There are a lot of convicts in there, they were running out, when the prison was already on fire.
Right now Philippines security officials inspect every car, every motorcycle, in order to prevent provocations. People and their families are fleeing from the region, taken over by the terrorists. If I think you need to die, you'll die. If you fight against us, you'll die. If you openly defy the authorities, you'll die. If this means that many will die, so be it. We already know that the Abu Sayyaf group is one of the groups behind the attack. They are responsible for the bloodiest terrorist attack in the Philippines of all times. In 2004 they blew up a ferry. Then 116 people died.
The Philippines state army has been fighting the armed radicals for decades. In spite of the danger, President Duterte personally visits these regions. He's accompanied by military helicopters. He's visiting the soldiers of the counter-terrorist operations in the hospital. One of them had his arm riddled with bullets. In order to take back control over the besieged territory this time, the authorities will need 2 months. Duterte personally controls the operation. As President, if I cannot take them down, I will resign.
