Leading imam to head police in troubled Philippine city

A leading Muslim figure has been appointed to head the police in Marawi City, where pro-Daesh terrorists have been fighting for two months.

Ebra Moxsir Al-Haj, president of the Imam Council of the Philippines, assumed his role on Monday, Chief Superintendent Reuben Theodore Sindac, the police chief for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, said in a statement.

Moxsir, a native of the city, has been a member of the Philippine National Police Chaplain Service for 22 years, GMA News reported.

"A fusion of spiritual and strategic rule, Superintendent Moxsir is expected to deliver a traditional yet innovative way of handling his area of responsibility," Sindac said, according to GMA.

The new police chief would be key to bringing peace to the city, the statement added.

Fighters from the Maute group and Abu Sayyaf attacked Marawi City on May 23, prompting President Rodrigo Duterte to impose martial law across the southern island of Mindanao.

Pockets of terrorists are still holding out in a battle that has seen 453 militants, 109 government troops and 45 civilians killed.