Westmincom still mum on death of 6 elite troopers

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines -  The  Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) has remained silent on the death of six elite troopers killed by military “friendly fire” at the height of the encounter with the Abu Sayyaf group in Sulu last month.

Lt. Gen. Rustico Guerrero, chief of Westmincom, which has the operational control of the Sulu area, declined to answer queries about the result of the military’s board of inquiry (BOI) submitted to the headquarters of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) which detailed the incident that led to the death of six members of the Joint Special Operation Group (JSOG) under the Special Operation Command (SOCOM).

The Westmincom has yet to announce any recommendation of actions to be taken  to prevent similar incidents in the future as Rustico refused to comment on the matter.

Capt. Ma. Rowena Muyuela, Spokesperson of Westmincom, said in a text message  that their commander is busy.

Muyuela, however, said the investigation is underway and that they are still waiting for the result of the inquiry.

She added that once the result of the inquiry is submitted they will coordinate with the  family of the deceased soldiers to explain the incident.

“Sir, ongoing pa ‘yong investigation and still waiting for the result of the inquiry and if ever may result there will be [an] authorized office that will inform them (victims’ family) sir,” Muyuela said in a text message.

During the incident on  June 19, Westmincom citing reports from 2nd Marine Marine Brigade chief Brig. Gen. Martin Pinto, said at least seven soldiers were killed after they were hit by mortar fired by the Abu Sayyaf group while 24 others were wounded.

The findings submitted to outgoing AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Emmanuel Bautista on Tuesday detailed the incident  which the military hierarchy described as “unfortunate”.

Ground information indicated  that the incident occurred while the Marine Force Recon were engaged in a clash with  the Abu Sayyaf  group led by Radulan Sahiron on June 19. During the clash a junior marine officer was killed, while  11 others were wounded.

This prompted the engaged marines to request for support that was provided with the use 105mm Howitzer firing rounds. However, a so-called wayward round landed near the forward post of the JSOG team that exploded, killing six of the troops.

It was not clear if some of the 24 wounded soldiers were among those injured from the blast of “friendly fire.” -