“I’m fine” says police chief who Duterte claimed had been beheaded

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Islamic State-affiliated militants are continuing to hold out in Marawi city.

The police chief that President Duterte claimed had been beheaded at a terrorist checkpoint in Marawi city is alive and well.

Speaking on Wednesday as he announced martial law throughout Mindanao, the president said the police chief, who he did not identify, was stopped at a checkpoint on Tuesday by gunmen who decapitated the officer “right then and there”.

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However, the Malabang police chief remains at his post. “I’m still alive,” Senior Inspector Romeo Enriquez told the Inquirer by telephone.

He added that there may have been confusion because a former Malabang police chief was killed in the fighting — but he was not beheaded.

According to Mr Enriquez, the former chief was shot dead in a clash with the extremists on Tuesday outside a Marawi hospital.

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The fighting in the city continues.