May 25 (UPI) -- Fighting continued for a third day in a city partially overtaken by Islamic militants in the southern Philippines after the nation's president declared martial law in the region.
A group of militants who pledged their allegiance to the Islamic State have taken hold of the southern Filipino city of Marawi, where a botched government raid on Tuesday to capture a leader of the group led to open fighting between the militants and government soldiers. As the situation deteriorated, militants began seizing buildings as civilians fled the violence.