AFP won't touch graves in MILF commander's camp

MANILA, Philippines - Despite the brutal killings of soldiers in Basilan, troops won't dare touch the remains of Moro fighters buried in several graves found in the lair of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) leader Wanning Abdusalam in Payao, Zamboanga Sibugay.

Lt. col. Randolph Cabangbang, spokesman of the Armed Forces' Western Mindanao Command, said the military will be able to come up with a more accurate count of fatalities from the group of Abdusalam by exhuming the fresly-dug graves found in the group's lair in Barangay Labatan.

However, Cabangbang said that the exhumation of the slain Moro rebel's bodies and the digging of their graves was out of the questions "in respect to the Muslim culture."

"Though we see that there were newly-dug grounds, which we could try to see if there are dead bodies in there, the military will not do it because that's a taboo to their culture," he said.

Aside from respect, he said that the graves may also have been booby-trapped.

"We will do everything to ensure that we can identify the casualties; but not at the expense of the violating the Muslim culture," he said.

The military moved into the lair of Abdusalam's group after three ambuscades in Zamboanga Sibugay on October 20, leaving seven soldiers and policemen dead. Two days before the attack in Zamboanga Sibugay, MILF fighters killed 19 members of the Army's 4th Special Forces Battalion in Sitio Bakisung, Barangay Cugman in Al-Barka, Basilan.

One of the 19 soldiers, Private First Class Roberto Ricafranca, 32, the soldier who was considered the “last man standing,” was brutally killed by the Moro rebels.

His body was found with an undetermined number of hack wounds. Reports said his body was hacked open and his internal organs were taken out by his killers.

Ten Marines were also beheaded in Barangay Guinanta, Al-Barka town during an encounter with MILF forces in 2007. Four other Marines were killed during the encounter.

The military initially counted its death toll in the Basilan clash at 13 and six missing. The six soldiers were later found dead.

The military claimed that the six missing soldiers were captured alive by the rebels, but were later murdered by their captors.

Death count not measure of success

Cabangbang said that troops have totally taken over the camp of Abdusalam's group. He said a team of Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) of the Philippine National Police is now scouring the camp for processing of evidence.

The military spokesman said that while some groups, including media, measure success in military operations by the number of deaths, the military consider victory when it troops have totally overrun a fortified camp of its enemies.

"We do not consider the number of death as the measure of victory during battle, but on the subduing of the camp of the enemies," he said, adding “To us, subduing the camp is our victory.”

He said Abdusalam's lair was "very strong fortified camp."

Earlier reports said that Abdusalam's group suffered at least 18 fatalities during the military airstrikes, which started early Monday.

Cabangbang said that a total of 18 freshly-dug graves were found by troops in the camp of Abudalam's group.

Meanwhile, the military spokesman said that the AFP will establish its presence within the lair of Abdusalam's group to avert the possible return of the fleeing rebels.

"We witness how fortified the camp was, and it is very important that we establish our presence there so the rebels could not return anymore," he said.

The military said that they received reports that Abdusalam was wounded when he abandoned the camp with at least 40 armed men. There were also reports that the Moro rebel leader was among those killed in the airstrikes.