DAVAO CITY – Governor Mujiv Hataman of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) is urging the Philippine military to station military troops in Butig, Lanao del Sur to prevent Maute Group fighters from coming back.

"Recommendation namin dapat magkaroon na ng station ang Armed Forces doon mismo sa Butig. Para di na sila makabalik doon," Hataman said.

(It is our recommendation to have military stations in Butig so terror groups won't come back).

He said the national government could also build up security efforts and capacitate the local government to ensure ARMM's safety over terror threats.

Troops in the southern Philippines retook a disused building from Muslim militants on Wednesday, ending an intense five-day siege that killed dozens of fighters the authorities say had pledged allegiance to Islamic State.

The militants belonged to the Maute Group, one of several Islamist groups in the country's restive south.

The siege ended as President Rodrigo Duterte visited injured soldiers in Lanao del Sur province, where seven of his advance security party were wounded on Tuesday, when suspected Maute militias set off a bomb under their truck.

"The town is deserted and the Maute is withdrawing towards the mountain," said military spokesman Brigadier-General Restituto Padilla.

"They have been decimated. The capability to sustain and get back to the fight is no longer there."

The government suspects the Maute Group in a Sept. 2 bombing in Duterte's home city, Davao, which killed 14 people and wounded more than 70.

Meanwhile, the ARMM is waiting for President Duterte to issue a directive on how government will reach out to Maute fighters.

Hataman noted the local government does not have a "line of communication" with the Maute group. He said the extremist group has not demanded anything from the local government yet. With Reuters