Delfin Lorenzana

Turkey on July 4 extended condolences to the Philippines over the loss of lives in a military plane crash.

"We learned with great sorrow that a Philippine Air Force plane crashed on 4 July 2021 in the Jolo island of the Sulu province," the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

At least 17 people were killed and 40 injured when a Philippine military aircraft carrying troops crashed after missing the runway in the country's south, officials said.

With bomb-proof tunnels, anti-tank weapons hidden in mosques, human shields and a "mastery" of the terrain, Islamist militants holed up in a southern Philippine city are proving a far tougher opponent than military chiefs expected.