Two soldiers hurt in brief encounter in Basilan

By Ronron
August 26, 2007

For the first time since the deadly August 18 encounter in Basilan, government troops figured anew on Sunday in a firefight in said province against armed men possibly belonging to the terrorist Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), leaving two soldiers wounded.

Capt. Neil Estrella, spokesman of the military’s Joint Task Force Thunder, said in a phone interview that the firefight started at around 4:38 pm in Barangay Silangkum, Tipo-tipo and lasted for about 15 minutes.

“Our troops were conducting combat patrol when they chanced upon this group of armed men whose identities we are still verifying,” Estrella said in Filipino.

He said the government troops were from the Army’s 4th Scout Rangers Company and 9th Special Forces Company, and the 9th Marine Battalion.

Asked if the armed men are possibly ASG members, Estrella said: “Yes, there’s a possibility that they are Abu Sayyaf on the basis that the clash site is just near the previous encounter.”

On August 18, elements of the Philippines Marines clashed with ASG rebels in the adjacent Ungkaya Pukan town for about eight hours, leaving 15 soldiers killed. An Air Force pilot who was manning an MG520 attack helicopter that was providing close air support to the troops on the ground also died after the chopper crashed due to engine trouble.

Last Friday, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. said the military will strike if they have intelligence information about the presence of the Al-Qaeda linked bandits.

Estrella said the wounded troopers were enlisted personnel of the Army and the Marines. “We already sent medical team to the site to provide immediate assistance,” said Estrella.

There was no immediate report about casualties on the side of the armed group.

Estrella said pursuit operations are still ongoing as of press time against the armed group, the strength of which is not immediately known.

The military has beefed up its strength to 5,000 in Basilan following the July 10 incident against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in Al-Barka town. Similarly, some 4,000 troops are scouring the nearby island province of Sulu where other ASG bandits and their allies are believed to be hiding too.

The fighting in Basilan and Sulu have already left 57 soldiers killed and about two dozen others wounded.

Esperon had said that he sees the end of the problem of terrorism in Basilan in two months./DMS