Hanoi (VNA) - The United States has given the Philippines hundreds ofmachine guns, pistols and grenade launchers which will be used against Islamistmilitants battling troops in Marawi city on Mindanao island in the southernPhilippines.

The weapons, including four M134DGatling-style machine guns, which are capable of firing thousands of rounds a minute, 300M4 assault rifles and 100 grenade launchers, were handed over tothe Philippines at a ceremony in Manila on June 5.

According to the US Embassy in the Philippines, the weapons will enhance the Philippine Marines’counter-terrorism capacity and help protect troops actively engaged incounter-terrorism operations in the southern Philippines.

Philippine Marines chief Major General Emmanuel Salamat said at the Philippine troopswould use the weapons in the ongoing battle against Islamist militants in thesouthern city of Marawi.

Clashes between government troops andterrorists over the last nearly two weeks have left at least 178 people dead.

In response to the violence, President Rodrigo Duterte quickly declared martiallaw in the southern region of Mindanao to quell what he said was a fast-growingthreat from the Islamic State (IS) there.

The Philippines and the United States have for decades been close allies, andthey are bound by a 1951 mutual defence treaty to protect each other if attacked.

The United States is the Philippines'biggest supplier of military hardware and arms.-VNA