American special forces have joined the Filipino military in their attempt to rid a southern Philippines town of Islamic State militants, Reuters reported Saturday.
According to the report, U.S. special forces are working as advisers at the behest of the Filipino government. Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte has been vehemently anti-Washington during his time in office, going so far as to call former President Obama a “son of a whore,” but he has had at least one friendly conversation with President Trump.
The Islamic State and the Filipino military have been fighting for three weeks in Marawi City. The urban warfare has left at least 58 Filipino troops dead along with 20 civilians and a hundred Islamic State fighters.
The American special forces are acting as advisers, but a spy plane was seen flying over Marawi City on Friday.
