"A group of our military armed men were hit by our own airstrikes. Ten killed," he said.
As stated by Lorenzana, on Wednesday two trainer jets were aimed to strike but the second one failed in its attempt to hit the enemies but instead hit the soldiers of the 55th Infantry Batallion.
Investigation are being conducted by the Department of Defense to check if there was any miscommunication between the ground commanders and pilots or if the second jet's pilot did an error.
"It will be call of ground commander to air strikes, pero limitahan muna natin," he said. [Limiting airstrikes in Marawi]
Thankfully, no civilians were harmed by the accidental attacks. However, injured troops were taken to Cagayan De Oro.
"Sometimes mistakes happen. All we can do is make sure it will not happen again," he said.
The battle between the government forces and ISIS-inspired militant group started since Tuesday last week in Marawi City and military troops have been firing rockets and bombing the terrorist who are hiding within the residences in the city.
According to the local government, there are about 2, 000 civilians trapped and hostaged by the militants around the places they took.
"It's sad but sometimes it happens in the fog of war. The coordination was not properly done," Lorenzana said.
Gunfights and battle started when the military forces raided an apartment which was believed to where the Isnilon Hapilon, who is regarded to be an ISIS-leader in the country.
"I think it's horrific for the civilian people who are in there and we really hope that both sides can agree that the civilians should be given the opportunity to come out," Martin Thalmann said, ICRC Philippine delegation deputy head.
President Rodrigo Duterte placed the entire island of Mindanao under martial to prevent the Maute terrorist group from escaping and leaving Marawi City.
Source: CNN
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