Marawi death toll rises as more bodies found

MARAWI CITY— Eight bakery workers were found dead by government forces pursuing terrorists Maute and Abu Sayyaf Group in the outskirts of Marawi City, police and military authorities said on Sunday.The decomposing remains of eight men were found in a canal beside the road leading to Marawi City at about 6 a.m. Sunday, a police officer here said.The death toll, according to the military rose to at least 80 as more bodies were found.Thirteen soldiers, two policemen and 51 militants have been killed in the close quarter battle between government forces and terrorist groups, according toLt. Colonel Jo-ar Herrera.Police and military forces have been conducting house-to-house clearing operations and aerial strikes to clear the city of Maute and Abu Sayyaf fighting groups who terrorized the city on May 23. The all-male victims' hands were tied with rope and had bullet wounds, a report from Lanao del Sur provincial police office said. A card board was placed atop one of the victims that reads Munafic, which means traitor.In Marawi City, civilians found the dead bodies due to traces of blood on a concrete pavement in Barangay Emi, Marawi City. It appears there were killed Friday, a civilian said. Image may contain outdoor sand//scontent.fmnl9-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/18766149_10212964124805719_4229066933701307241_n.jpg?oh=9ecba33675bef43ceeaad0a66f28dab3andampoe=59B75C42 (Photos by Ferdinandh Cabrera)The identities of the victims were not immediately available as of posting but they were identified by residents as bakery workers. On Saturday, the Western Mindanao command, in a statement, said there is no civilian casualty in air strikes in Marawi City.Lt. Gen. Carlito Galvez, Westmincom chief, said the aerial strikes were surgical and receive precise information from ground troops before launching air to ground strikes.Government forces have been pursuing about 100 heavily armed terrorists who attacked the city to raise ISIS flags.