ZAMBOANGA CITY – The military intensified the pursuit operation against more than 80 combined Abu Sayyaf and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels it encountered Tuesday which left two soldiers dead and 12 others wounded in Tipo-Tipo, Basilan, according to military and local officials.
A local official reported that the MILF called for a “jihad” (holy war) and urged members to reinforce the Abu Sayyaf group.
Ungkaya Pukan Mayor Joel Maturan said fresh reports confirmed that two soldiers – one from the Special Forces and another from the Scout Rangers – were killed in the day-long offensive while 12 others, including a Citizen Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU) member, were wounded. Medical assistance had been provided, he said.
Maj. Eugene Batara, spokesman for the Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom), confirmed the casualties of the government forces but released a different figure.
Citing reports from Task Force Thunder based in Tabiawan, Basilan, the military suffered two killed and nine wounded.
Batara said all the casualties were identified but their names were withheld because the families of the victims have yet to be informed.
The Abu Sayyaf also suffered undetermined casualties but Batara said members of the extremist group were seen dragging their fallen comrades away.
All the military casualties were airlifted late Tuesday to the military hospital in Zamboanga City for treatment.
“We are receiving reports, through ground intelligence and visual information, from operating forces that the Abu Sayyaf and their lawless armed group cohorts were inflicted with heavy casualties,” Batara said.
“They (enemies) have casualties but they dragged them away, hid, and buried them following the Muslim ritual before sundown,” Batara said.
Maturan said that during the encounter there were students – apparent MILF members – who responded to the call of their leaders to join the Abu Sayyaf and went to the encounter site.
Basilan Provincial Police director Chief Superintendent Salik Macapantar confirmed he received reports that a student was caught in the crossfire.
But Maturan said the reports indicated that some of the MILF members, who are students, just responded to the call of their leaders to help in the encounter.
“It was a mixed group of Abu Sayyaf, lawless elements, rogue Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), and MILF that joined the pintakasi (hand-to-hand) fight against the government forces because their leader called for holy war,” Maturan said.
Maturan said an MILF leader allegedly had circulated text messages to his members from other areas to help the Abu Sayyaf and lawless elements.
“He called many to join the encounter against the military. The encounter was big because the MILF and other rebel groups participated,” Maturan said.
Maturan doubted whether the MILF guerrillas were just defending their camp because the encounter site in Sitio Kapayagan was more than two kilometers away from the MILF camp in Sitio Badja Maluha in Barangay Baguindan.
“The MILF members in the area were the ones who went out of their camp and attacked the military forces to block them from pursuing the Abu Sayyaf,” Maturan said.
Esperon: US pilots helped in evacuation
At Camp Aguinaldo, Armed Forces chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr. confirmed that American pilots, using their own aircraft, helped their Filipino counterparts evacuate the 12 wounded soldiers in Silangkom town in Basilan the other day.
In an interview with reporters at Camp Aguinaldo, Esperon said a US helicopter backed up two night-capable UH-1H (Huey) helicopters to airlift the military casualties even during the night to save their lives.
“We acknowledge our daring pilots who evacuated the casualties even at night. We are grateful they (US pilots) helped us in the evacuation,” he said, adding that there were about two US military pilots from Zamboanga who took part in the operation.
Esperon said that the participation of American combat pilots in that operation was part of the technical assistance given by the US military to the AFP.
He also clarified that the only participation of the American pilots was to help in the evacuation of casualties from the encounter site. He also said that the Air Force UH-1H’s were the ones mainly used for the operation. He said the US aircraft only provided back-up support.
Two of the 12 wounded soldiers died in hospital, while a stray bullet reportedly hit a still unidentified civilian student.
The encounter, which involved elite Army Scout Rangers and Special Forces troopers and some 50 to 80 Abu Sayyaf bandits and lawless elements, was the first since the lull in the fighting between soldiers and terrorists during the last armed engagement on Aug. 18 in Ungkaya Pukan town.
Meanwhile, the military has charged truce violation against a faction of the MILF who fought with Abu Sayyaf terrorists in the latest Basilan encounter.
Westmincom commander Maj. Gen. Nelson Allaga said reports on the ground indicated that some of the MILF aided the Abu Sayyaf during the encounter.
He said they would formally file complaints for violation of ceasefire truce to the government’s CCCH once the investigation is completed. – With James Mananghaya, AFP