Ex-Aeta rebel tagged in Pinatubo ambush

CLARK FIELD, Pampanga — A former Aeta rebel, whom the New People’s Army (NPA) had discharged over a rape incident, could possibly be the gunman who ambushed two foreigners trekking to Mt. Pinatubo last Wednesday, an Army officer said.

This, as the body of American Brian Thomas Smith, 33, who was killed in the ambush, was flown here at noon yesterday after it was retrieved by Army and Air Force rescuers on Mt. Pinatubo’s slopes.

The soldiers initially found it hard to retrieve his body because of the rugged terrain and poor visibility, according to Col. John Balhayon, who led the rescue team from the Army’s 703rd Infantry Brigade.

Smith died from a gunshot wound in the spine. His companion, Siegfried Whitman, 54, who was shot in the legs, was rescued Thursday morning.

Balhayon based his suspicion that the former Aeta rebel was the ambusher based on Whitman’s description that their attacker was a "small, black guy with a rifle."

Balhayon said the Aeta attacker could belong to a group of bandits called "Salaginto" which was involved in the sale of fake gold bars and lately, in holdups and other criminal activities.

Whitman said they were attacked at about 10:30 a.m. Wednesday while they were trekking to Pinatubo in Barangay Sapang Uwak, Porac town.

He said the gunman was on an elevated ground some 200 meters away from them.

Earlier, some military officials suspected that communist guerrillas could be behind the ambush on the two foreigners.