Three soldiers from the 55th Infantry Battalion, were wounded in an encounter with the group of one of the remaining key figures in the 2017 Marawi siege in Lanao del Sur on Thursday morning.

Capt. Clint Antipala, acting public affairs officer of the 1st Infantry Division, said troops of 55th Infantry Battalion encounter around 24 Maute-ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) remnants under one of its leaders, Abu Dar, in the vicinity of Sultan Dumalondong, Lanao del Sur around 8:10 am.

Col. Romeo Brawner, commander of the 103rd Infantry Brigade, said the operation started around 6pm of Wednesday but the actual clash took place Thursday.

"Casualties were immediately extracted from encounter site for medical treatment," he said.

As of 2pm, Brawner said a Maute-ISIS member was confirmed killed and another was critically injured.

Brawner added that despite unfavorable weather, the military are trying to deploy aircraft to support the ongoing operation against the terrorists.

Maj. Gen. Roseller Murillo, commander of the 1st Infantry Division and JTF Zampelan, assured that the wounded soldiers will be given necessary and best medical attention.

Brawner confirmed that Abu Dar is at the encounter site. “He is there (Abu Dar). There are fatalities among the enemies but we were not yet able to recover them,” he said.

Brawner said the fire fight is still going on. Robina Asido/ DMS