Duterte Declares Martial Law on Southern Philippine Island of Mindanao
The Washington Post’s William Branigin reports, “Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law Tuesday on the southern island of Mindanao as security forces battled heavily armed militants linked to the Islamic State in a provincial capital.” At least two soldiers and one police officer have been killed, while a dozen other soldiers have been wounded in the Philippine government’s clash with the Maute group, a radical Islamic organization. Branigin writes, “Mindanao has been the center of a decades-old insurgency by Muslim rebel factions in the predominantly Roman Catholic country.”