MANILA - At least 164 people have died in clashes between government security forces and terrorists in the southern city of Marawi, the military said Thursday.

Among the fatalities were 120 Abu Sayyaf and Maute fighters, 25 government troops and 19 civilians, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesperson Col. Edgar Arevalo said in a phone interview with radio DZMM.

Arevalo added that about 966 civilians have been rescued from war zones while 98 high-powered firearms were seized from militants.

Earlier Thursday, the military marked the 10th day of the crisis by unleashing more rockets on the positions held by the hardline Maute and Abu Sayyaf.

"Mayroon pa rin pong ilang bahagi na naroroon pa rin po sila at pilit na nilalabanan ang mga sundalo at pulis na pumapasok para iligtas ang ating mga kababayan," Arevalo said.

(There are still some areas held by the rebels and they are preventing soldiers and policemen from extracting civilians.)

• MAP OF MARAWI: How things stand

The militants laid siege to Marawi on Tuesday after the government attempted to arrest terror leader Isnilon Hapilon, promting President Rodrigo Duterte to place Mindanao under martial rule.

Government forces have since retaken 90 percent of Marawi, but the rebels had kept up the fight with rifles and ammunition stolen from a police station, a prison, and an armored police vehicle, military spokesman Restituto Padilla said Wednesday.

The government said another rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) had agreed to help get civilians out of Marawi and had accepted Duterte's unconventional offer for communists, separatists and the military to unite against radical Islam. -- With Reuters

• MORE STORIES: Marawi siege, martial law in Mindanao