Militants cling on to 1,500 buildings

Islamist gunmen led by one of the world's most wanted terrorists still hold about 1,500 buildings in a southern Philippine city after weeks of ferocious fighting that has left hundreds dead, officials said yesterday.

The Philippine military has struggled to expel scores of gunmen who rampaged across Marawi city on May 23 flying the black flag of the Islamic State group, despite day and night artillery and air strikes that have reduced swathes of the downtown area to rubble.

President Rodrigo Duterte last month vowed to "crush" the militants, but several deadlines have already been missed to end a conflict that has left scores dead and forced some 400,000 people from their homes.

The gunmen are led by Isnilon Hapilon, one of the world's most wanted men, who is believed to be still alive and holed up in a mosque, Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana told a news conference in Manila.

In the most detailed assessment yet, he conceded there was no saying when soldiers would be able to retake all 1,500 houses and buildings still held or booby-trapped by the militants.

"Since it is urban fighting a lot of our troops there are not prepared. One can say they are learning as they fight in this built-up area," he said, adding that soldiers are battling street-to-street retaking up to a hundred buildings a day.

The military in Marawi suggested a slower rate, with soldiers recapturing 40 buildings on Saturday and 57 on Sunday.