Sunday, August 31, 2008

Guam Army National Guard Unhurt In Southern Philippines Attack, 4 Filipino Marines Killed


A convoy of US and Philippine troops pass on a village in Jolo town in the southern Filipino province of Sulu. Abu Sayyaf militants attacked US and Filipino soldiers in the village of Bonbon in Sulu's Patikul town on Saturday, August 30, 2008 killing four local soldiers and wounding ten more. A member of the Guam Army National Guard was unharmed in the attack. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)


ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / August 31, 2008) – The Philippine military launched a “calibrated” offensive against Abu Sayyaf militants following an attack that killed four Filipino soldiers and wounded ten more in the southern island of Sulu, officials said.

US soldiers were in the military convoy when militants attacked them with mortars and automatic weapons near a marine base in the village of Bonbon in Patikul town over the weekend. The attack occurred two days before the start of the Ramadan, Islam’s holiest month.

Filipino security officials did not report about the presence of US troops in the convoy, but the Guam Army National Guard released a brief statement Saturday, confirming that a local serviceman currently was unharmed following an attack on his unit on the island.

The US soldier was not identified, but the Guam Army National Guard said the serviceman is attached to a platoon with the 294th Infantry Regiment deployed in May in Sulu to aide in the ongoing conflict there.

No other details were made available by the Philippine and US military about the American involvement in the operations against the Abu Sayyaf in Sulu, but the members of the 294th Infantry Regiment are assigned to the U.S. Joint Special Operations Task Force - Philippines.

The attack came two days after Filipino and US soldiers and provincial government officials inaugurated various development and infrastructure projects in Patikul town.

Four artesian wells have been handed over to local officials in the villages of Timpook, Taung, Tanum, and Liang and a new school building in the village of Bonbon and two road projects in Liang and Bud Datu, all in Patikul.

At least 30 US soldiers, part of the Guam Army National Guard's 1st Battalion under the 294th Infantry Regiment, were deployed in Sulu to serve as security - for at least for six months - for a unit of the Special Operations Command-Pacific.

Hundreds of US troops are deployed in Sulu and other parts of the southern Philippines also conducting joint civilian-military operations and training with the Philippine military.

The humanitarian missions is part of the Balikatan, which means "shoulder-to-shoulder," an annual Philippine and US bilateral military humanitarian assistance and training activity.

Though US and Philippine government officials have consistently claimed that the unit is not involved in actual combat, US troops themselves describe their mission as "unconventional warfare" and "counter-insurgency" operations in the country. US troops join Filipino soldiers on patrol, provide them with intelligence, and assist in various aspects of their operation.

American soldiers are also active in many development and humanitarian activities in the southern Philippines, especially in Sulu province where they built roads and schools and join medical missions with local troops and provincial government mostly in poor areas.

Just earlier this year, about 600 US troops worked with civilian authorities and the Armed Forces of the Philippines in various humanitarian projects that included free medical, dental and veterinary care in Sulu province and also in central and Western part of Mindanao.

US and Philippine soldiers, many of them construction engineers, built schools and other community infrastructures in those areas. In 2006, the United States Navy hospital ship Mercy had treated more than 60,000 mostly poor Filipino patients in separate medical missions in Sulu, Basilan and Tawi-Tawi islands, including Zamboanga City, as part of the Project Bayanihan. (Mindanao Examiner)

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

What happens if a US soldier gets killed in Mindanao by rebel attack?

I hope the Americans won't use it as an excuse for US army in the region to launch an offensive on Philippine territory.

Anonymous said...

It's really funny how then Philippine military tries but failed to hide the news from the local media. While this report has been confirmed by the Guam Army National Guard and all over television and radio in Guam, the Armed Forces of the Philippines still denied it. Wonder how the Filipino media are coping with this embargo? Watched the deniel on the Filipino Channel.

Anyway, these are some of the links of the reports from Guam!

1.Philippines Military News - Military Industry Today
Guam Guardsman unharmed after PI attack 31 Aug 2008 04:27 GMT ... killed and 10 were wounded when ... near Patikul town on Jolo island, the military said. ...
military.einnews.com/philippines/ - Similar pages
2.PhilippinesNews at WorldNews Project
10:15 p.m. รข€" A Guam National Guard soldier deployed to the Southern ... killed four Philippine government soldiers on the island of Jolo this morning. ...
www.epistle.ws/Philippines.html - 37k - Cached - Similar pages

1.4:55 p.m. — Guam National Guard soldier safe, unharmed after rebel ...
31 Aug 2008 ... 4:55 p.m. — A Guam National Guard soldier deployed to the southern Philippines is unharmed and safe after a rebel attack on a convoy of the ...
guampdn.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080831/NEWS01/80831013 - 1 hour ago - Similar pages
2.Guam Guardsman unharmed after PI attack
31 Aug 2008 ... The Guam National Guard released a brief statement confirming that a ... was unharmed following an attack on his unit on the island of Jolo ...
www.kuam.com/news/29828.aspx - 47k - 20 hours ago - Cached - Similar pages
3.KUAM.COM's Week-in-Review of Guam news
Guam Guardsman unharmed after PI attack. The Guam National Guard released a ... was unharmed following an attack on his unit on the island of Jolo in that ...
www.kuam.com/marketingprograms/todaysheadlines.asp - Similar pages
More results from www.kuam.com »


1.More results from zamboangajournal.blogspot.com »
2.Southeast Asia Wire (Page 10) - Topix
The Guam National Guard released a brief statement confirming that a local serviceman currently serving in the Philippines was unharmed following an attack ...
www.topix.com/wire/world/southeast-asia/p10 - 66k - Cached - Similar pages
3.Hanap Pinoy : Filipino Search Engine and Directory
BREAKING NEWS: 10:15 p.m. — Guam Army National Guard soldier unharmed after ... four Philippine government soldiers on the island of Jolo this morning. ...
www.hanappinoy.com/ - 25k - Cached - Similar pages
4.AltaVista News: International
4:55 p.m. — Guam National Guard soldier safe, unharmed after rebel attack in ... morning killed four Philippine government soldiers on the island of Jolo. ...
www.altavista.com/news/cats?q=&nc=5&stq=10&sc=235 - Similar pages

Philippines Military News - Military Industry Today

1.Guam Guardsman unharmed after PI attack 31 Aug 2008 04:27 GMT ... killed and 10 were wounded when ... near Patikul town on Jolo island, the military said. ...
military.einnews.com/philippines/ - Similar pages

1. More results from zamboangajournal.blogspot.com »
2. BREAKING NEWS: 10:15 p.m. — Guam Army National Guard ...
30 Aug 2008 ... 10:15 p.m. — A Guam National Guard soldier deployed to the Southern Philippines is unharmed and safe after a rebel attack on a convoy of the ...
www.guampdn.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080830/NEWS01/80830020/1002 - 39k - 18 hours ago - Cached - Similar pages
3. www.guampdn.com | Printer-friendly article page
30 Aug 2008 ... BREAKING NEWS: 10:15 p.m. — Guam Army National Guard soldier unharmed after attack in Philippines Pacific Daily News news@guampdn.com ...
www.guampdn.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080830/NEWS01/80830020&template=printart - 9k - 14 hours ago - Cached - Similar pages
More results from www.guampdn.com »
4.Guam Guardsman unharmed after PI attack
31 Aug 2008 ... The Guam National Guard released a brief statement confirming that a ... was unharmed following an attack on his unit on the island of Jolo ...
www.kuam.com/news/29828.aspx - 47k - 20 hours ago - Cached - Similar pages
5.KUAM.com - On-Air. Online. On Demand.
Guam Guardsman unharmed after PI attack The Guam National Guard released a ... was unharmed following an attack on his unit on the island of Jolo in that ...
www.kuam.com/index.aspx - Similar pages
More results from www.kuam.com »
6.Southeast Asia Wire (Page 10) - Topix
Guam Army National Guard soldier unharmed after attack in Philippines Read the original story. 22 hrs ago | Guam Pacific Daily News ...
www.topix.com/wire/world/southeast-asia/p10 - 66k - Cached - Similar pages
7.Hanap Pinoy : Filipino Search Engine and Directory
BREAKING NEWS: 10:15 p.m. — Guam Army National Guard soldier unharmed after ... four Philippine government soldiers on the island of Jolo this morning. ...
www.hanappinoy.com/ - 25k - Cached - Similar pages
8.AltaVista News: International
4:55 p.m. — Guam National Guard soldier safe, unharmed after rebel attack in ... morning killed four Philippine government soldiers on the island of Jolo. ...
www.altavista.com/news/cats?q=&nc=5&stq=10&sc=235 - Similar pages
9.Philippines Military News - Military Industry Today
Guam Guardsman unharmed after PI attack 31 Aug 2008 04:27 GMT ... killed and 10 were wounded when ... near Patikul town on Jolo island, the military said. ...
military.einnews.com/philippines/ - Similar pages

Unknown said...

I thought the US Army's presence in Mindanao is for training or humanitarian reason?

Does this mean that foreign forces are now on offesive operations in Mindanao?

If so, isn't that a violation of the RP Constitution?

Why should the AFP hide the news about the attack on a contingent that includes Guam Natl Guard? Is there something in this that the govt press arm is trying to hide from Filipinos?

Anonymous said...

Both! They are active in humanitarian activities and at the same time helping the local soldiers in fighting the Abu Sayyaf...US troops are deployed in the battalion level, they also join Filipinos in patrol...check out the photos of the local media of US and RP troops patrolling together in Jolo island...

Philippine officials say the US troops are prohibited from joining combat ops, but who would know?


John