MERLIZA M. MAKINANO
AFTER 154 days of fighting, the siege in Marawi, which displaced more than 400,000 residents, and killed more than a thousand people finally ended. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana reported that about 95 foreign terrorists were killed, wherein 33 terrorists have been positively identified. This latest act of terrorism cemented the presence of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (IS) in Mindanao reinforcing assertions that while IS lost its main territory in Raqqa, it is known to operate in a number of countries, including the Philippines.