MANILA,
May 27 — Victory through air power.
This
is the ace the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is using in a bid to
eliminate Maute terrorists from Marawi City, Lanao Del Sur at the fastest
possible time and without causing collateral damage to civilians still in the
area.
Brig.
Gen. Restituto Padilla, AFP spokesperson, said on Saturday that surgical air
strikes was the best way to do this as the terrorists were hiding and holding
out inside private homes, government buildings and other facilities.
"Their
refusal to surrender is holding the city captive. Hence, it is now increasingly
becoming necessary to use more surgical air strikes to clear the city and to
bring this rebellion to a quicker end," he said in a text message to PNA.
And
while not giving specific on what type of aircraft are being used for these
operations, the AFP is known to operate MG-520 and AW-109 attack helicopters
along with OV-10 and SF-260 light bombers in the region for counter-terror and
anti-insurgency strikes.
"We
desire to free Marawi City of these evil forces and make way for a peaceful
Ramadhan for our citizens there who have supported our efforts. We appeal for
everyones understanding as we take the necessary steps to accomplish our
mission and prevent the lost of more innocent lives and damage to private and public
property," Padilla said. (PRIAM F. NEPOMUCENO/PNA)
