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Terrorists Enter Primary School In Philippine, Take Hostages: Army

Hundreds of gunmen initially attacked a lightly guarded military outpost at dawn, with many withdrawing but about 30 then taking over the school and using civilians as human shields, the military said.

Agence France-Presse | Updated: Jun 21, 2017 16:34 IST

Philippine Army said the gunmen had planted improvised bombs around the school (Representational)

Marawi: Terrorists occupied a primary school and took hostages in a southern Philippine village on Wednesday, a few hours drive from a city where other jihadists were fighting a month-long war, authorities said.

Hundreds of gunmen initially attacked a lightly guarded military outpost at dawn, with many withdrawing but about 30 then taking over the school and using civilians as human shields, the military said.

"As of now they are in the school holding the civilians. They are using them as human shields," Captain Arvin Encinas, spokesman for the army division with responsibility for the area, told AFP over the phone.

He said the gunmen had planted improvised bombs around the school.

Captain Encinas said he did not know how many hostages had been taken, or if they included children.