June 19, 2002, The Philippine Star, U.S. Troops Fire Back in Self-Defense at Abu Sayyaf

June 19, 2002, The Philippine Star, U.S. Troops Fire Back in Self-Defense at Abu Sayyaf

Zamboanga City, (STAR) US marines participating in a six-month joint training exercise in Mindanao got their baptism of fire last Monday when armed men shot at them near an ongoing construction project in the strife-torn island province of Basilan.

Two US marines and a company of Filipino soldiers fired back at their assailants, suspected to be members of the Abu Sayyaf group of terrorists who have been linked to the al-Qaeda network of Osama bin Laden.

US troops based in the capital city of Isabela were immediately dispatched to assist the two marines. Two Chinook and two Pave Hawk helicopters also scrambled to provide air support to the embattled unit.

"This is the first time that US soldiers in southern Philippines came under fire and fired back at hostile forces since they landed in Basilan last Feb. 15," Maj. Gen. Ernesto Carolina, commander of the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ Southern Command (Southcom) based in Zamboanga City, said.

Confirming the report, US Embassy spokesman Frank Jenista said the troops were doing routine security check "when unidentified armed men fired at them."

"The security personnel returned fire in self-defense," Jenista said.

Officials believed that some of the attackers were either killed or wounded, but this could not be immediately confirmed.

A senior military official said none of the US and Philippine troops was hurt in the five-minute firefight.

Under the terms of reference of the five-month-old joint maneuvers dubbed "Balikatan 02-1," the US forces cannot join actual combat but can fire back when attacked.

Pentagon spokesman Lt. Comdr. Jeff Davis said the US marines and elements of the Army’s 55th Infantry Battalion were at the security perimeter of the construction project on the outskirts of Isabela when suspected Abu Sayyaf terrorists fired at them.

Quoting an unnamed Philippine military official, the Associated Press reported that the gunmen ambushed the joint patrol. No further details were given.

Carolina said the incident occurred in Kumalarang district, a known haven of the Abu Sayyaf.

Authorities said the attack was apparently not meant to overrun the construction project, but merely to frighten the soldiers as the attackers immediately fled after firing.

Maj. Richard Sater, spokesman for the US contingent in Southern Philippines, said the incident was being investigated, but refused to elaborate.

Security was tightened around all construction projects being undertaken by the US Seabees in Basilan.

The Seabees are constructing a circumferential road, some bridges, an airstrip and repairing ports in Basilan, funded by the US government to the tune of P4 million.

US marines acted in self-defense — AFP

Defense department spokesman Maj. Gen. Melchor Rosales said the US troops acted within the guidelines of the joint exercise.

An AFP source also revealed that a Filipino soldier was killed and a local guide wounded in another Abu Sayyaf attack on Monday near the town of Tipo-Tipo in Basilan.

Some 500 US soldiers, including 160 Special Forces, are in Basilan to train and advise their Philippine counterparts in anti-terrorist warfare, while another 500 are on standby in Zamboanga City to provide logistical and technical support.

The exercise will officially end on July 15, but officials of both countries are mulling extending the US troops stay in Mindanao beyond the six-month period.

At least three more battalions of Philippine troops were pulled out from counter-insurgency operations in the Visayas and dispatched to Mindanao to beef up the troops running after Abu Sayyaf bandits in Basilan, Sulu and the Zamboanga peninsula.

A ranking military official said the move was part of a "realignment of forces" in compliance with President Arroyo’s order to ultimately demolish the Islamist rebel group which styled itself as freedom fighters but specialized in kidnapping for ransom and other terrorist acts.

The search-and-destroy operations were launched after the Abu Sayyaf lost their last three remaining hostages last June 7 in a fierce encounter with Army soldiers backed by the US Special Forces.

During the skirmishes at the outskirts of Sirawai town in Zamboanga del Norte, two of the hostages — American missionary Martin Burnham and Filipino nurse Edibora Yap — were killed apparently in the crossfire, while Burnham’s wife Gracia, was rescued but wounded in the right leg.

Officials said a battalion assigned in rebel-infested Tacloban City in Leyte, was pulled out and sent to Sulu as reinforcement for the 104th Infantry Brigade tracking down the Abu Sayyaf faction led by Ghalib Andang, alias Commander Robot, and Mujib Susukan.

Andang and Susukan figured prominently in the protracted kidnap crisis in Sulu involving 19 foreigners and two Filipinos snatched from the upscale Malaysian resort of Sipadan on April 23, 2000.

A battalion of Scout Rangers was also ordered to join the 103rd Infantry Brigade under Col. Alexander Aleo which has been conducting a parallel search and destroy operations in Basilan.

Earlier, the Army’s 14th Infantry Battalion was withdrawn from Borongan, Eastern Samar for deployment to Sirawai where the Abu Sayyaf faction of Aldam Tilao alias Abu Sabaya has sought refuge after fleeing the heat in Basilan.

"We will continue our operations here and we will not relent," Aleo stressed. — Roel Pareño, Paolo Romero, Pia Lee-Brago, AFP reports