Philippines military release photos showing children among them ISIS foreign fighters killed in Marawi last year.
Child soldiers were among 32 foreign militants who were killed during a counter-terrorism battle of Marawi.
More than 1,200 people, mostly militants, were killed during the five-month battle between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and militant groups linked to Islamic State in the southern Philippine city of Marawi that ended in October 2017.
The Maute group and Abu Sayyaf effectively held Marawi hostage in their aim to create an Islamic state in Southeast Asia. Military operation began with an aim of capturing it from the reigns of the militants.
During and after the battle, reports emerged about child soldiers fighting alongside the militants. Early in the fighting, unsuspecting Philippine troops were taken by surprise by attacks from children they initially thought were innocent.
The ISIS affiliated militants in Marawi were helped by foreign fighters, mainly from Indonesia and Malaysia, although some reportedly came from Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Chechnya.
