"The Philippines have not requested nor is the US planning drone strikes in the Philippines," Logan stated. "We respect the sovereignty of the Philippines, and we are not pursuing unilateral action in the Philippines."
Logan noted that the United States continues to help train, advise and assist the Philippines security forces fighting the terrorists.
"We also continue to support the modernization of the Philippines' armed forces to address the country's security challenges through a comprehensive grant assistance program that seeks to deliver needed counterterrorism (CT) equipment and training," he said.
On May 23, Philippine security forces stormed the city of Marawi seeking to prevent two Islamic State-affiliated groups from meeting, which sparked up a full-scale armed conflict.
Two days later, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law on the southern island of Mindanao, which is often subjected to attacks by Islamic State-linked terror groups. So far, more than 500 militants and 122 Philippine servicemen have been killed in fighting in Marawi.
