Philippine military mistakenly kills own soldiers

The Philippine military mistakenly killed its own 11 soldiers in the course of targeting Islamist militants, said a military official on Thursday.

Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana told media that "a group of our military armed men were hit by our own airstrikes".

The media reports quoted Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla as saying that the airstrikes on Wednesday also injured seven other soldiers.

"It's sad but sometimes it happens in the fog of war. The coordination was not properly done," Lorenzana said.

Militants who are said to be loyal to the Islamic State are on the target of the security forces since May 23 in Marawi where around 200,000 residents have fled, but about 2,000 civilians are trapped in the areas where the militants have hegemony.