Five months ago, a group of pro-ISIS militants attacked and took control of parts of the southern Philippine city of Marawi. More than 1,000 people have been killed in the siege that has raged since then, as Philippine government troops waged war against the pro-ISIS occupiers—local terrorist groups called the Maute Group and Abu Sayyaf. Airstrikes and thousands of government troops involved in street battles took an enormous toll on the city as well, damaging or destroying hundreds of houses, mosques, and other buildings. After the deaths of two of the militant leaders, President Rodrigo Duterte declared the fighting over last week, and said that Marawi City had been liberated. Today, some of the 400,000 displaced residents are being allowed to return to parts of their war-ravaged city.
A Victory Against ISIS in the Philippines Leaves a City Destroyed
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A bombed-out mosque stands in what was the main battle area in Marawi on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao on October 25, 2017, days after the military declared the fighting against ISIS-inspired Muslim militants over. #
Ted Aljibe / AFP / Getty -
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Smoke billows from houses after one of the final aerial bombings by Philippine Air Force planes on Islamist militant positions in Marawi on September 17, 2017. The Philippine military said on September 17 that it had captured the command center of the ISIS supporters who had besieged Marawi for months. #
Ferdinandh Cabrera / AFP / Getty -
Government troops on board their trucks flash the victory sign as they prepare to leave the main battle area in Marawi on October 25, 2017, days after the military declared the fighting over. #
Ted Aljibe / AFP / Getty -
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Damaged houses and buildings are seen after government troops cleared the area of pro-ISIS militants inside a war-torn area in Saduc proper, Marawi, on October 22, 2017. #
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A soldier inspects a tunnel connected to the city's underground drainage system, used by militants as cover during the height of battle between government troops, in Marawi, on October 25, 2017. #
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A mannequin, dressed like a sniper, is placed beside a sign of the Muslim militant Maute group near a military checkpoint in an abandoned neighborhood of Mapandi during an ongoing cleanup of Marawi on October 19, 2017. #
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Philippine Navy commandos aboard a gunboat patrol on Lake Lanao as pro-ISIS militants were making a final stand amid a massive military offensive in Marawi on October 19, 2017. #
Bullit Marquez / AP -
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A soldier is seen through a military vehicle's windshield cracked with bullet holes as the military prepared to leave the battle against ISIS-inspired militants on October 20, 2017, in Saguiaran municipality in Lanao del Sur, southern Philippines. #
Jes Aznar / Getty -
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A government soldier waves the Philippine flag as the military prepares to leave the battle against ISIS-inspired militants on October 20, 2017, in Lanao del Sur, Philippines. #
Jes Aznar / Getty -
Residents and office workers welcome members of the Philippine National Police Special Action Force who just arrived from Marawi, as they march to Camp Bagong Diwa, south of Manila, on October 25, 2017. #
Aaron Favila / AP -
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