Philippine troops kill nine Islamist militants, including two linked to Catholic Mass bombing

Government troops killed nine members of a pro-Islamic State group in the southern Philippines, the military said on Saturday, including two suspects in a deadly blast at a Catholic Mass last month. Four soldiers were wounded during Thursday and Friday's counter terrorism operation in the Lanao del Sur province, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said in a statement, but all are in stable condition. Those killed were members of Daulah Islamiyah, the AFP said, a pro-Islamic State militant group that took control of the southern Marawi city in 2017 and held it through five months of ground offensives and air strikes by the military.