This photo taken on March 8, 2018 shows Philippine soldiers standing next to their armoured personnel carriers as they man a checkpoint along a highway near the clash site between government troops and islamic militants in Datu Saudi Ampatuan town, Maguindanao province on the southern island of Mindanao.
The Philippine military said on March 9 it has killed at least eight Islamic militants in an operation to stop jihadist efforts to set up base in the country's south following the deadly five-month siege of Marawi city last year. / AFP PHOTO / FERDINANDH CABRERA        (Photo credit should read FERDINANDH CABRERA/AFP/Getty Images)