RIP to the 14 Filipino Marines.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6290302.stm
14 Marines killed; 10 were beheaded
MILF, Abu join forces in Basilan ambush
By Julie Alipala, Christine Avendaño
Mindanao Bureau, Inquirer
Last updated 02:32am (Mla time) 07/12/2007
LAMITAN CITY -- They were returning to base in heavy rains after a
fruitless search for kidnapped Italian priest Giancarlo Bossi when
their trucks stalled in the mud. Then the firing began.
In a 10-hour gun battle that turned into a carnage, 14 Marines were
killed -- 10 of them beheaded -- and nine others wounded in one of
the most shocking military debacles in years in the countrys
southern islands.
They were surprised when bullets rained on them, Brig. Gen.
Ramiro Alivio told the Philippine Daily Inquirer, recounting
Tuesdays daylong clash between 50 badly outnumbered Marines and
some 400 Abu Sayyaf bandits and Moro Islamic Liberation Front
(MILF) guerrillas in Albarka municipality (formerly Tipo-tipo) on
Basilan island.
The commander of the 1st Marine Brigade based in Basilan province
said several enemy combatants were also killed in the one-sided
encounter.
A GMA Network television crew which covered the battle described
their experience as hellish.
The networks video footage of the fighting showed the Marines
seeking cover behind their trucks and coconut trees, looking like
they were not sure where the shooting was coming from.
The footage also showed soldiers trying to counterattack with a
mortar but it would not fire.
Abu Sayyaf signature
A senior military officer, who did not want to be quoted for lack
of authority to speak to the media, said that it was the
signature of the Abu Sayyaf to behead people.
Only the Abu Sayyaf is into beheading people, the officer said in
a phone interview.
Branded as a terrorist organization by foreign governments, the Abu
Sayyaf has gained international notoriety for decapitating
hostages, including American tourist Guillermo Sobero who was
beheaded in 2001.
The officer said Tuesdays ambush was likely a retaliation by the
bandits for the death of two of their commanders in an encounter on
July 5 with soldiers from the same 1st Marine Brigade.
MILF admits involvement
One of the Abu Sayyaf leaders reportedly killed in that incident
was the son of Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon, who was shot in
the mouth.
Late on Tuesday, the Marines initially reported suffering four dead
with 10 others missing -- until the headless corpses turned
up.
The MILF, with which the Arroyo administration has been engaged in
off-and-on peace talks for years, admitted its troops were involved
in the fighting in Barangay Ginanta but said they acted in
self-defense.
Mohagher Iqbal, MILF chief negotiator, said the military sent
troops to Ginanta, a known MILF territory, without proper
coordination.
Iqbal said the MILF forces were taken by surprise upon seeing the
soldiers and opened fire.
Search for Bossi
Four MILF guerrillas were killed while seven others were wounded in
the battle, he said.
Iqbal also admitted that MILF rebels scouring the area after the
firefight recovered 11 headless bodies -- compared to Alivios
figure of 10 -- and turned these over to the authorities.
Iqbal could not explain why the soldiers were beheaded.
I received the report that our troops beheaded seven Marines,
Iqbal said. We are investigating and determining the identities of
those involved. We have an existing policy not to harm any captured
enemy.
Alivio said the soldiers were part of a search-and-rescue effort
for Fr. Bossi, 57, who was abducted in Payao town, Zamboanga
Sibugay province, on June 10.
There has been no word on the whereabouts of the priest since he
was taken by armed men after saying Sunday Mass.
Stuck in the mud
The Basilan fighting would seem to support, at least on surface,
earlier reports that Bossis captors might have already moved him
out of Zamboanga Sibugay.
They must be hiding something there, Alivio said, referring to
the intensity of Tuesdays attack on the Marines.
On July 3, his abductors sent out photos of the kidnapped priest,
which led the military to suspect he was now being hidden in
Basilan.
Alivio said the Marine soldiers, who rode on three military trucks,
were on their way back to their headquarters in Campo Uno here
after an operation in connection with the Bossi kidnapping when
they were ambushed.
One of the three trucks got stuck in mud. It was then raining hard
and that made the movement of the soldiers quite difficult, he
said.
We were outnumbered
Alivio said the soldiers were moving ahead slowly when they were
fired upon by about 400 gunmen, who he said belonged to the MILF
and the Abu Sayyaf.
Alivio said the soldiers retaliated and the heavy firefight lasted
for about 10 hours.
Alivio said the headless bodies were (those of) the missing
soldiers during the firefight.
We were outnumbered, thats the reason we suffered heavy
casualties, Alivio said.
Tuesdays casualties were the most the military had suffered in a
single encounter in recent years. In 2005, 12 soldiers were killed
in a clash with the Abu Sayyaf in Patikul town in Sulu
province.
Marine officials in Manila said they still had no information on
whether the MILF was responsible for the treacherous
ambush.
Marines spokesperson Lt. Col. Ariel Caculitan blamed lawless
elements and the Abu Sayyaf for the ambush.
Definitely, there will be some actions and investigations as to
what really happened Tuesday, Caculitan told reporters.
If there was participation of some MILF members, then we would
have to seek the intervention of the Coordinating Committee on the
Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH) considering that the government and
the MILF are currently holding peace talks and we have a
ceasefire, he said.
Acts of barbarism
Told that MILF officials were blaming the military for not
coordinating with them when they entered the MILF area, Caculitan
said while the area might have been MILF, a lapse in coordination
was not a go-signal to consider attacking Marine troops.
He said it was possible that the firefight, which started at 10
a.m., lasted long because other lawless groups joined in,
considering blood relations and other connections in the
community.
It was very treacherous ... our vehicles were even torched,
Caculitan said.
The Abu Sayyaf also provoked outrage and disgust from Islamic
scholars and ordinary Filipinos when they beheaded seven workers in
Jolo in April this year. Malacañang branded that incident an act
of barbarism.
In 2000, the same group of bandits beheaded two school teachers as
a birthday gift to then President Joseph Estrada after the
government rejected rebel demands in exchange for the release of
hostages they were holding.
In June 2001, the Abu Sayyaf beheaded Sobero as an Independence
Day gift to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
There have been a number of low points in the history of military
efforts to stamp out the Abu Sayyaf as well as the communist
rebels.
In May 2000, Abu Sayyaf bandits killed 13 soldiers in Basilans
Lantawan town, mutilating some of the corpses.
In August 2000, the military suffered one of the biggest losses in
the war against insurgents when communist New Peoples Army rebels
killed 17 soldiers in fighting in Himamaylan town in Negros
Occidental province.
In November 2001, NPA guerrillas ambushed an Army unit in
Compostela Valley province, killing 18 soldiers.
In February 2005, Moro National Liberation Front guerrillas killed
13 Marines in an ambush in Patikul, Sulu. With reports from PDI
Research, Jeoffrey Maitem, Inquirer Mindanao, and Reuters
