MARAWI, Philippines — American troops are on the ground in the embattled southern Philippine city of Marawi, where the Philippine military is battling Islamic State-linked militants for control, a Philippine military spokesman said on Wednesday.

The spokesman, Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla, said that the American forces were not engaged in combat, but his statement was the first official confirmation of the American military presence in Marawi.

Philippine and American officials have previously said that United States Special Operations forces were providing military assistance in the battle for the city, but American officials have not said from where, and Philippine officials had said there were no American military “boots on the ground” in Marawi.

American officials have framed the assistance as part of a long-term counterterrorism project, noting in a statement on Monday that the Special Forces troops had been “providing support and assistance in the southern Philippines for many years.”