A Victory Against ISIS in the Philippines Leaves a City Destroyed

Alan Taylor
October 25, 2017
28 Photos
In Focus

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.

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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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Damaged buildings are seen inside a war-torn area in Marawi on October 24, 2017. #

Romeo Ranoco / Reuters

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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

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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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A government soldier watches as journalists tour among the ruins in Marawi on October 25, 2017. #

Ted Aljibe / AFP / Getty

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A war-damaged mosque dome in Marawi on October 25, 2017. #

Ted Aljibe / AFP / Getty

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Damaged houses, buildings, and a mosque are seen in Marawi on October 25, 2017. #

Romeo Ranoco / Reuters

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Flames rise among damaged buildings after government troops cleared the area of pro-ISIS militant groups inside a war-torn area in Marawi on October 23, 2017. #

Romeo Ranoco / Reuters

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War-damaged houses, buildings, and a mosque inside Marawi on October 25, 2017. #

Romeo Ranoco / Reuters

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Government troops walk through a hole inside a bullet-riddled wall of a house in what was the main battle area in Marawi on October 25, 2017. #

Ted Aljibe / AFP / Getty

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Damaged buildings and houses in Marawi, with Lake Lanao in the background, on October 25, 2017. #

Romeo Ranoco / Reuters

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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. #

Romeo Ranoco / Reuters

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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. #

Ted Aljibe / AFP / Getty

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A damaged mosque stands in Marawi on October 25, 2017. #

Romeo Ranoco / Reuters

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Philippine soldiers walk past destroyed buildings in the Bangolo district after President Rodrigo Duterte declared Marawi "liberated" on October 17, 2017. #

Ted Aljibe / AFP / Getty

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Government soldiers wave during a send-off ceremony ending their combat duty against pro-ISIS groups outside military headquarters in Marawi on October 25, 2017. #

Romeo Ranoco / Reuters

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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. #

Bullit Marquez / AP

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Damaged buildings are seen after government troops cleared the area of pro-ISIS groups in Marawi on October 23, 2017. #

Romeo Ranoco / Reuters

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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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Bombed-out buildings and homes stand in what was 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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Military trucks drive past destroyed buildings and a mosque as troops leave Marawi on October 25, 2017. #

Ted Aljibe / AFP / Getty

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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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Damaged buildings and houses line a street in Marawi on October 25, 2017. #

Romeo Ranoco / Reuters

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A mosque with its dome blasted with holes is seen in the battle-scarred Marawi on October 19, 2017. #

Bullit Marquez / AP

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Government soldiers stand in front of damaged buildings in Marawi on October 25, 2017. #

Romeo Ranoco / Reuters

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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

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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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A government soldier stands guard in front of damaged buildings in Marawi, Philippines, on October 25, 2017. #

Romeo Ranoco / Reuters

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