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Home/ stevenwarran's Library/ Notes/ August 19, 2007, The Philippine Star, Basilan: 42 Bandits, 15 Marines Dead in Remote Abu Sayyaf Camp Clash, by Jaime Laude

August 19, 2007, The Philippine Star, Basilan: 42 Bandits, 15 Marines Dead in Remote Abu Sayyaf Camp Clash, by Jaime Laude

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August 19, 2007, The Philippine Star, Basilan:  42  Bandits, 15  Marines  Dead in Remote Abu Sayyaf Camp Clash, by Jaime Laude and Roel Pareño, 

 

 [PHOTO AT LEFT - The body of one of the Marines slain in yesterday’s clash with the Abu Sayyaf in Basilan is unloaded from a helicopter at a military base in Zamboanga City. Among those killed was the co-pilot of an Air Force MG-520 attack helicopter which crashed. - Photo By CHARLIE SACEDA]

 

MANILA, (STAR) - Marines swooped down early yesterday morning on a remote Abu Sayyaf camp in Basilan, killing 42 bandits – including a suspect in the beheading of 10 soldiers on July 10 – but losing 15 of their own men, including five junior officers.

 

Seven other enlisted personnel were wounded in the fierce close-quarter firefight that erupted at 6:25 a.m. when the Marines surprised the Abu Sayyaf bandits at their camp in Unkaya Pukan. Gunfire could still be heard around the site of battle as of press time.

 

"The Marines' display of unwavering gallantry in this government-initiated engagement is commendable. In the face of danger, they did not waver. Their dedication to accomplish the mission prevailed," Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro, Armed Forces public information chief, said.

 

He declined to identify the Marine casualties, but a source said the five slain officers were a Lieutenant Salvador of the Philippine Military Academy Class 2005, and Lieutenants Loperaz, Sumera, Solorin, and Pinera, all of PMA Class 2006. The Marines belong to the 64th Force Recon Company and Force Recon Class-13.

 

A co-pilot of an MG-520 attack helicopter was also killed when his helicopter crashed in the coastal village of Umaloy in Basilan at around 5 p.m. while providing air support for the ground troops.

 

Lt. Gen. Eugenio Cedo, commander of the Western Mindanao Command, confirmed the crash but stressed it was not due to ground fire from the Abu Sayyaf.

 

"It was not hit by enemy fire, it just crashed," Cedo said.

 

He said the other pilot survived. The Air Force will investigate the cause of the crash.

 

But a military source said the chopper's pilot, a certain Captain Calubiran, was missing, while his co-pilot known only as Udaundo died in the crash.

 

Bacarro said 70 Abu Sayyaf terrorists headed by Furugi Indama were defending the camp. He said Indama himself and his brother Umair alias Abu Jihad died in the battle. Soldiers also recovered the remains of another guerrilla known only as Barait. The military also recovered the remains of three other bandits.

 

Cedo said 30 wounded Abu Sayyaf members were dragged away by their fleeing comrades.

 

Umair was tagged as among those behind the beheading of 10 of the 14 Marines killed by Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) guerrillas during the July 10 fighting in Al Barka town.

 

The MILF admitted that its men killed the soldiers because they intruded into its territory but denied a role in the beheadings.

 

Yesterday's clash was the bloodiest in Basilan since July 10. Last week, 27 Army soldiers and 32 Abu Sayyaf gunmen were killed in separate clashes in Jolo. Marine casualties also totaled 27, including yesterday's.

 

"Firefight is ongoing as of this report. Troops are now concentrating on the area. We will press on with the fight," Bacarro said.

 

He said the operation was undertaken in coordination with the local government and the MILF, which is in peace negotiations with the government brokered by Malaysia. It was not immediately clear what the MILF's involvement in the fighting was.

 

A GMA television reporter close to the scene said troops, tanks and helicopters were rushing to the area. Gunfire could still be heard in the background as he reported from the area at past noon.

 

"The enemy suffered a lot of casualties. We are still trying to get the exact number but their casualties are heavy," military spokesman Maj. Eugene Batara said.

 

Government forces pounded the terrorist lair with heavy artillery.

 

"The Marines fired heavy artillery utilizing the 105mm Howitzers toward the positions of the Abu Sayyaf and armed groups in the area," Batara said.

 

Ungkaya Pukan Mayor Joel Maturan said fighting was so intense and both sides suffered heavy casualties

 

Batara said the soldiers were on a defensive position when they were attacked with mortars.

 

"The ground troops shifted to offensive mode as a result of the intense attack," Batara said.

 

After the July 10 incident in Al Barka and the ambush-slaying of Army soldiers on Aug. 7 and Aug. 9, Malacañang ordered intensified operations against the Abu Sayyaf and its leaders, particularly Radullan Sahiron, Al Bader Parad and Gumabahali Jumdail alias Doc Abu, who was reportedly wounded in a recent encounter with troops.

 

The military has also stepped up its hunt for two Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) members wanted for the 2002 Bali bombings – Umar Patek and Dulmatin. The latter was reportedly wounded in a clash with the Army in Maimbung.

 

The Abu Sayyaf, believed to have links to Osama bin Laden’s al- Qaeda global terror network, is responsible for most of the terror attacks in the Philippines, including the deadly bombings of the LRT and a SuperFerry vessel.

 

The group gained global notoriety when its members snatched foreign tourists from a resort in Sipadan, Malaysia and held them for weeks in the jungles of Basilan.

 

Abu Sayyaf bandits were also responsible for the kidnapping of US missionary couple Martin and Gracia Burnham and several others from the Dos Palmas Hotel in Palawan. Martin was killed by gunfire at the height of a military rescue operation. The bandits beheaded a Puerto Rican-American kidnap victim, Guillermo Sobero. – With AFP, AP

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