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Philippines says militants had planned much larger-scale attack

08 Jun 2017 - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}      

 

 

REUTERS, 07th JUNE, 2017
Philippines troops thwarted an original plan drawn up by the Islamist militants now holed up in Marawi City to “spread terror” in a rampage of violence that would have given them full control of the southern town, the military said on Wednesday.


“There was indeed a bigger plan and it was supposed to wreak more havoc,” military spokesman Restituto Padilla told a news conference as aerial bombing resumed against fighters who have sworn allegiance to the ultra-radical Islamic State.


Philippine senators said members of the upper house were last week shown a video of the militants, led by a group known as Maute, plotting a far more sophisticated siege of Marawi City than the attack they launched there on May 23.`