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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Read moreA 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. #
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Read moreDamaged buildings are seen inside a war-torn area in Marawi on October 24, 2017. #
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Read moreSmoke 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. #
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Read moreGovernment 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. #
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Read moreA government soldier watches as journalists tour among the ruins in Marawi on October 25, 2017. #
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Read moreA war-damaged mosque dome in Marawi on October 25, 2017. #
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Read moreDamaged houses, buildings, and a mosque are seen in Marawi on October 25, 2017. #
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Read moreFlames 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. #
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Read moreWar-damaged houses, buildings, and a mosque inside Marawi on October 25, 2017. #
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Read moreGovernment 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. #
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Read moreDamaged buildings and houses in Marawi, with Lake Lanao in the background, on October 25, 2017. #
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Read moreDamaged 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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Read moreA 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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Read moreA damaged mosque stands in Marawi on October 25, 2017. #
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Read morePhilippine soldiers walk past destroyed buildings in the Bangolo district after President Rodrigo Duterte declared Marawi "liberated" on October 17, 2017. #
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Read moreGovernment soldiers wave during a send-off ceremony ending their combat duty against pro-ISIS groups outside military headquarters in Marawi on October 25, 2017. #
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Read moreA 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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Read moreDamaged buildings are seen after government troops cleared the area of pro-ISIS groups in Marawi on October 23, 2017. #
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Read morePhilippine 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. #
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Read moreBombed-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. #
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Read moreMilitary trucks drive past destroyed buildings and a mosque as troops leave Marawi on October 25, 2017. #
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Read moreA 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. #
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Read moreDamaged buildings and houses line a street in Marawi on October 25, 2017. #
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Read moreA mosque with its dome blasted with holes is seen in the battle-scarred Marawi on October 19, 2017. #
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Read moreGovernment soldiers stand in front of damaged buildings in Marawi on October 25, 2017. #
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Read moreA 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. #
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Read moreResidents 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. #
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Read moreA government soldier stands guard in front of damaged buildings in Marawi, Philippines, on October 25, 2017. #
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