--- description: Islamic militants reportedly raided a southern Philippine village in what may be an attempt to divert resources away from besieged Marawi title: Militants Storm Philippine Town as Fight for Marawi Goes On image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt33efb5a5fe2b6563/6988d2850b72e38bac6ee54c/gettyimages-688038400.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Philippines](/tag/philippines/) ## Philippines Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Militants Storm a Southern Philippine Village as the Battle for Nearby Marawi Continues by [Joseph Hincks](/author/joseph-hincks/) ## Joseph Hincks Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 21, 2017 6:55 AM CUT  Philippine soldiers arrive at a military camp in Marawi on May 25, 2017. Philippine soldiers arrive at a military camp in Marawi on May 25, 2017.Ted Aljibe—AFP/Getty Images by [Joseph Hincks](/author/joseph-hincks/) ## Joseph Hincks Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 21, 2017 6:55 AM CUT Militants reportedly raided a village and occupied an elementary school in the southern Philippines Wednesday, in what army officials say may be an attempt to divert resources away from efforts to clear Islamic State-linked insurgents from nearby Marawi City. The _Associated Press_ [reports](https://www.apnews.com/0829a005aa9b4d4e82199e9ad6510015/Rebels-attack-Philippine-village,-possibly-to-divert-troops "undefined") that the militants, members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) insurgent group, stormed the village in Mindanao’s Cotabato province at dawn and used five civilians as human shields as they engaged in gun battle with government troops. Citing military spokesperson Brig.-Gen. Restituto Padilla, AP reports that no one was hurt in the exchange and the rebels were retreating, though authorities “are still verifying” whether the civilians had been freed. A police official told the AP that the school was closed when the attack occurred. **Read more:** [_ISIS in the Philippines: The Battle for Marawi City_](http://time.com/marawi-philippines-isis/ "undefined") The Cotabato village raided by the rebels is about 93 miles south of Marawi City in Lanao del Sur province, where the Philippine military has been engaged in a month-long battle with insurgents who have pledged allegiance to IS. Fighters from an ad-hoc coalition of militant groups — including BIFF members — overran Marawi on May 23 and continue to hold out against a sustained air and ground offensive. “If this is a diversionary move, it’s not the first by these BIFF gunmen,” Padilla said. “They have tried to attack more than once and all have been thwarted.” The entirety of Mindanao, which constitutes the southern third of the Philippines, has been placed under martial law by President Rodrigo Duterte. \[[AP](https://www.apnews.com/0829a005aa9b4d4e82199e9ad6510015/Rebels-attack-Philippine-village,-possibly-to-divert-troops "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4826151/philippines-isis-biff-cotabato-attack/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4826151/philippines-isis-biff-cotabato-attack/"},"headline":"Militants Storm a Southern Philippine Village as the Battle for Nearby Marawi Continues","datePublished":"2017-06-21T06:55:30.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T16:14:37.150Z","description":"The militants used human shields as they engaged in gun battle with government troops","url":"https://time.com/4826151/philippines-isis-biff-cotabato-attack/","keywords":["Philippines","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt33efb5a5fe2b6563/6988d2850b72e38bac6ee54c/gettyimages-688038400.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Joseph Hincks","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/joseph-hincks/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt33efb5a5fe2b6563/6988d2850b72e38bac6ee54c/gettyimages-688038400.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"PHILIPPINES-UNREST-MILITARY","caption":"PHILIPPINES-UNREST-MILITARY","creditText":"Ted Aljibe—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/philippines/","name":"Philippines"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4826151/philippines-isis-biff-cotabato-attack/","name":"Militants Storm a Southern Philippine Village as the Battle for Nearby Marawi Continues"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Drone footage of Marawi","description":"Drone footage of Marawi. (Source: AFPTV)","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/xZygTC3Y/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2017-06-16T02:30:19.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/xZygTC3Y.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4826151/philippines-isis-biff-cotabato-attack/","duration":"PT20S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4826151/philippines-isis-biff-cotabato-attack/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```