Government troops conduct military offensive against rebels in Marawi City

Filipino soldiers take their position following alleged fresh clashes between government troops and rebels in Marawi city, Mindanao Island, southern Philippines, 25 May 2017. According to media reports, President Rodrig

o Duterte declared martial law on the southern island of Mindanao in response to a new armed offensive by the Maute group, one of the jihadist bands operating in the region.

On May 23, militants from the Maute group - an organization linked to the so-called Islamic State (or IS or ISIS) - had captured Marawi, a city with a population of 200,000

people, and laid siege on a hospital for hours, and set a church, a college and the city's prison to fire, while holding over 10 people hostage.

The Maute group is an Islamic armed organization based in Lanao del Sur that first emerged in 2012 under th

e name of Khilafah Islamiyah Movement (KIM), but adopted the name EI-Ranao two years later to indicate its affiliation with the so-called Islamic State.