More than 100,000 people are still living in evacuation centres following the Daesh siege of the Philippines’ city of Marawi, but as they await reconstruction, the president has announced a new military base to be completed this year.
US DNA tests have confirmed the death of a pro-Daesh commander who was a key leader of the terrorist group that laid siege to Marawi City in the southern Philippines in 2017.
Authorities recovere another unexploded bomb nearby as government forces imposed a security lockdown in Cotabato city.
The Senate and House of Representatives easily voted to approve President Rodrigo Duterte's request to extend martial law until the end of 2018 in the restive southern region.
The president of the Philippines imposed martial law on the island in May to deal with the Marawi siege, which troops quelled in October.
The Philippine housing agency said more than 1,000 transitional houses could be completed within two months on the outskirts of Marawi, where a deadly conflict with Daesh loyalists displaced more than 300,000 people.
Defence ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations meet in the northern Philippine city of Clark and issued a strong statement against North Korea on Monday.
Philippines Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said a five-month long battle against Daesh militants in the south of the country has ended.
Although Daesh's influence in the southern Philippine city is on wane, the group still poses a significant security threat to all of Southeast Asia
President Rodrigo Duterte imposed military rule across the insurgency-wracked region of Mindanao on May 23, saying it was necessary to defeat Daesh-backed militants.
The five decapitated civilians were found among 17 others in the besieged city of Marawi. The town has been under the siege by the Maute militant group that has pledged allegiance to Daesh.
The military says 290 people have been killed, including 58 soldiers, 206 militants and 26 civilians. Residents who have fled the shattered city said they have seen at least 100 bodies in the rubble and in battle zones.
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