Burnham’s rescue from Abu meticulously planned – military

ZAMBOANGA CITY — The military’s rescue operations to save American missionary couple Martin and Gracia Burnham and other hostages of the Abu Sayyaf group were meticulously planned, contrary to suggestions that it was a botched attempt.

This was according to a post military operation report dubbed "Operation Day Break" which The STAR obtained recently.

The military report described in detail how it laid out the campaign plan to rescue the hostages alive "despite overwhelming odds."

It also reported how the military cautiously stalked the enemy position and ensured even up to the last minute that there would be no indirect firing, such as the use of grenade launchers, to protect the hostages.

Gracia Burnham, in her book "In the Presence of My Enemies," has talked about the military’s engagement pattern in its 17 encounters with the Abu Sayyaf during her captivity, culminating in rescue operations on June 7, 2002 that killed her husband Martin and another captive, Filipino nurse Ediborah Yap.

The military’s official report on Operation Day Break stated that on April 12, 2002, the military discovered the Abu Sayyaf group led by Aldam Tilao, alias Abu Sabaya, along with their hostages, had left Basilan for Zamboanga del Norte.

Sabaya’s movement, the report said, was carefully tracked down using information gathered by both the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and American forces who were then training Filipino soldiers under the Balikatan 02-1 joint military exercises.

The Southern Command tasked Joint Task Force Comet to launch Operation Day Break when the rebels’ presence in Piacan, Sirawai town was confirmed.

According to the report, discrete troop movement from Basilan to Zamboanga del Norte started on May 27 with about 400 soldiers composed of five task groups — the Scout Rangers, the elite Light Reaction Company, Marine Force Recon Companies and the Naval Special Warfare Unit supported by Naval and Army Riverine assets and the Air Force.

Barangay Piacan was the primary target, but the troops used three different routes. On June 6, the troops tracked down the enemy’s position through clues such as blood-stained clothes, cotton balls and chewed-up betel nuts on the forest floor. However, bad weather conditions hampered the intelligence efforts of the Filipino and American surveillance teams.

The following day, a chainsaw operator found tracks on the road in Barangay Culasian, Sirawai, just about 300 meters from the location of 1Lt Oliver Almonares, commander of the 15th Scout Ranger Company, which was among the 11 units searching for Sabaya’s group.

Almonares and his group immediately reported to Lt. Col. Renato Padua, 1st Scout Ranger Battalion chief, who was about a kilometer away from his location and coordinated their teams to move as soon as possible. The 15th SRC started closely following the tracks at about 7 a.m.

At about 2:50 p.m., the Abu Sayyaf’s makeshift tents were spotted below a creek. Almonares gathered his team and planned the raid, ordering his men into position. Part of the final instruction was to avoid firing indirectly rifle grenades, M-203 rounds, and hand grenades, unless the hostages were secured.

Although surprised, the enemy put up a hasty defense, firing as they jumped out of their hammocks, delivering a heavy volume of fire using mainly M-203s, the report said.