According to the latest news from the Philippines, the military there says it has made gains retaking Marawi city from Islamist militants after clashes that have left about 100 people dead.
Militants now control only small pockets within the southern Philippine city, according to the military.
However, nineteen civilians are known to have died and there are still reports of fighting on the ground and thousands of civilians trapped.
Why has violence flared in the Philippines city of Marawi?
Violence erupted last Tuesday after a failed army raid to capture a top militant, Isnilon Hapilon, a leader of the Abu Sayyaf militant group who is on a US terror watch list and has also pledged allegiance to the so-called Islamic State group. The raid failed and dozens of gunmen took to the streets of Marawi, flying black ISIS flags.
Since then, troops have been using attack helicopters to battle the Islamist militants, who have seized parts of the southern Philippine city.
How have Christians been caught in the crossfire?
Last Tuesday, a Catholic priest, Fr Teresito 'Chito' Sugarno, the vicar general of Marawi City, was taken hostage along with around a dozen of his parishioners.
There has been no word of the Christians since, and troops say they are investigating reports of civilian deaths.
More than 200 local and foreign fighters from the Maute group and others allied to ISIS spread out across the city, seizing the main hospital and prison before attacking the Cathedral of Maria Auxiliadora.
According to reports, Fr Teresito and the group of worshippers were decorating the church for a holy day to celebrate the life of Mary.
The Christian group reportedly ran to the nearby bishop's house, looking for safety, but the militants burst in after them. According to local residents, that evening, after bundling their captives into vehicles, they torched the church.
There have been reports of other Christians being attacked on the same day, with local Muslims defending them.
What is the background to Christian presence in the Philippines and Marawi?
More than 90 per cent of the Philippines' 100 million people is Christian, but in Marawi Muslims are in the majority. In 1980 Marawi declared itself an 'Islamic City', the only one in the Philippines.
The city is in the Lanao del Sur province on the southern island of Mindanao. The province is a stronghold for the Maute group, which has pledged allegiance to ISIS. Islamist fighters from Malaysia, Indonesia and other countries have converged in Mindanao, sparking fears that it could become a regional stronghold of ISIS.
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte imposed martial law in Mindanao last Tuesday – the first time martial law has been imposed since 1986 - in response to the violence. Martial law allows the use of the military to enforce order and the detention of people without charge for lengthy periods.
Nonetheless, until recently the small Christian population in the city have lived in relative peace.
