Body found in Marawi may be of Singaporean
A body believed to be that of the first Singaporean militant killed in weeks-long clashes in the besieged Marawi City in the southern Philippines has been recovered, security officials said yesterday.
"A cadaver of a foreign-looking individual was... recovered by troops.
"It is believed that it is one of the reported foreign fighters from Singapore," Joint Task Force Marawi said in a statement.
A task force official added: "The assessment is he is one of the Singaporeans reported to have joined the terrorists, but we cannot give further details at the moment."
He declined to say how the man's nationality had been ascertained.
But a source in Marawi told The Straits Times that some foreign fighters had travel papers on them.
In response to queries, Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs said: "We are currently in touch with the Philippine authorities to gather more information on the identity of the supposed Singaporean killed in Marawi."
Brigadier-General Restituto Padilla, the military spokesman, and Solicitor-General Jose Calida said in May that Singaporeans were among those fighting in Marawi.
Officials said yesterday that 11 foreign militants had been killed in Marawi.
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