Exclusive - Maute Group Threatens To Behead Military and President Duterte

The Maute terrorist group left a parting message before escaping the town of Butig, Lanao del Sur and threatened to behead the Armed Forces of the Philippines, as well as President Rodrigo Duterte.

In a report by Chino Gaston of GMA-7's News to Go, the group was engaged in a fierce fire-fight with the military at the town. Before retreating, the Maute group left a chilling message on chalkboard.

The message read: "Humanda kayong mga sondaro/popogotan namen kayo ng mga olo"

They even left a warning for Pres. Duterte: "TAGOT/Homanda ka Duterte popotan/namen ikaw nang olo."

The NTG reports said the AFP took back the town of Butig last Thursday after hours of fighting. The Maute group had strengthened their position by setting up sniper perches and trenches. They even raised black ISIS flag over the town during the siege. The flag was taken down and replaced by the Philippine flag after the fire fight. The report also suggests that the terrorist group may have retreated in the forested areas of the mountain behind Butig.

The Army Explosives and Ordnance Division is now currently performing clearing operations for improvised explosive devices (IEDs) that may have been left by the local terrorist group.

The report states that the IEDs found were similar to the one used at the Roxas Night Market bombing in Davao City last September.

It is estimated that the terrorist group suffered 40 casualities from the fighting while 20 soldiers were injured. According to the report, the Maute Group's fighting force is estimated at 300 strong armed with a 100 high-powered firearms and as many as 50 IEDs.