Army launches air, ground assaults to drive away Maute group from Lanao Sur town

COTABATO CITY -- Government military drove away Maute terrorists group who occupied the entire town of Butig in Lanao del Sur and flew ISIS flag, officials said.Vice Gov. Mamintal Adiong said in a phone interview that the government forces have driven away the terrorist following an air and ground assaults the past two days.Butig is a hinterland town south of Marawi City. According to Wikipedia,Butig is a sixth class municipality in the province of Lanao del Sur, Philippines. Based on the 2010 census, it has a population of 16,642 peoplebelonging to Maute groupFive months ago, the same group who pledge allegiance to Islamic State of Syria and Iraq, occupied the town and were driven out by military operations.The Armed Forces of the Philippines said government forces are now in control of the town hall, the Butig National High School and a Mosque.While the military had been in town, some Maute group members are still sniping at soldiers from the town periphery.Adiong confirmed civilians have fled to safer grounds but could not provide number of affected families.Roads leading to Butig had been closed while clearing operations are still going on.Military forces across Mindanao have been alerted for possible bombings by Maute group to diver the attention of military offensives.