Members of Philippine Marines are pictured aboard a vehicle as more soldiers reinforce to fight the Maute group in Marawi City in southern Philippines May 29, 2017. REUTERS/Erik De Castro
MARAWI, Philippines (Reuters) - The Philippines military said on Monday it was close to retaking a southern city held for a seventh day by Islamist militants, as helicopters unleashed more rockets on positions held by the rebels aligned with Islamic State.
The clashes in Marawi city with the Maute militia, a group hardly known a year ago, has become the biggest security challenge of Rodrigo Duterte's 11-month presidency, with gunmen resisting air and ground assaults and still in control of central parts of a city of 200,000 people.
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