Tuesday, September 02, 2008 Military offensive launched in Sulu By Cheng Ordonez
THE military has launched an offensive operation against Abu Sayyaf militants who attacked and killed five Filipino soldiers and wounded 10 others in the Philippine southern island of Sulu, a predominantly Muslim area, officials said.
The military offensive has been made despite the observance of Ramadan, Muslims' holiest month, and fasting started Monday, September 1.
US and Filipino soldiers were on their way out of their camp in Patikul, Sulu, Jolo when the militants attacked them with mortars and automatic weapons a few hundred meters away from the marine base in the village of Bonbon in Patikul town Saturday morning.
The fatalities were brought to the La Merced Funeral Homes in Zamboanga City.
Five of the wounded Filipino soldiers who were in critical conditions were immediately airlifted to Manila, the capital. One of the victims died in a Manila hospital.
The victims were four marines and a member of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines identified as Corporal George Calugcugan, who according to relatives, missed the C-130 military cargo plane and joined the convoy of US and Filipino soldiers.
According to his sister, Calugcugan was in Sulu for processing of his transfer papers for his new assignment in Metro Manila. He was supposed to board a C-130 aircraft but missed it due to mechanical problem in the vehicle that transported them to the local airport.
The attack occurred two days before the start of the Ramadan, Islam's holiest month. The attack also came a couple of days after Filipino and US soldiers and Provincial Government officials inaugurated various development and infrastructure projects in Patikul town.
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 was unharmed following the attack.
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 last May in Sulu.
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 US Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines.
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, according to the Sulu Media Desk base here.
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 six months with a unit of the Special Operations Command-Pacific.
The humanitarian missions is part of the so-called "Balikatan" project, 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. (With a report from Sulu Media Desk)
