Pacete: Counterterrorism: Building take-downs in Marawi

ANY action taken against terrorists must be swift, forceful, and aggressive. When I was still a neophyte tourism officer of Silay, I was privileged to attend a counterterrorism seminar-workshop conducted by a retired member of the Delta Force. My participation was facilitated by a friend who works in the United States (US) Marshall’s Service Special Operations Group.

My instructor said that there are three concepts at the heart of counterterrorism: speed, surprise, and violence of action. Every elite team should accomplish these. Hit them hard. Hit them fast. And do it in such a way that the “tangos” are shocked and unable to respond effectively. I doubt if our Armed Forces of the Philippines is doing this in the alleged “final phase” of the Battle of Marawi.

We are made to understand of the propaganda committee of our military that the last phase of the dramatic act of our military is the building takedowns. Our instructor said that counterterrorist teams spend a lot of time practicing building assaults because in the target buildings we have the hostages and the “tangos.” Social, political and religious terrorists like the Maute-Islamic State of Iran and Syria (Isis) are the most difficult to deal with because of their commitment.

After a month, our military in Marawi has not totally cleared the area yet. The Maute-Isis barricaded themselves inside the buildings for a longer time. The probability of a prolonged occupation increases the risk on the part of the hostages. We have been receiving some propaganda reports that some hostages are told to shoot the soldiers and some women have been raped.

We would like to make here a possible scenario when a building takeover happens. The inner and outer perimeter around the target building is quickly established by our Philippine National Police personnel. This becomes a safety zone that would control the curious public and the over-aggressive media. Sniper observers (just like what we see in the movies) are deployed in strategic areas to monitor the movement of the terrorists.

Collected intelligence will be relayed by a radio to tactical command center. If the US Elite Counterterrorism Forces are helping our armed forces, the snipers will be advised to take note of the number of “tangos,” weapon types, booby traps, ongoing activities, identifying marks of hostages (terrorists as well), and other vital factors.

Often, they photograph the terrorists so that the assault teams are able to quickly and correctly identify them during the takedowns. (In tourism, we call it profiling of guests.) To be sure that the picture is clear, the building is color coded and numbered (example… green for front, blue for the rear, red for the left, and brown for the right; the windows are numbered top to bottom, floor by floor).

If I were a sniper, I would make this report to my tactical command center, “Tango, Green 7-Red 7.” It would mean that a terrorist has been sighted at the front of the building on the seventh floor at the seventh window from the left. Other pieces of information will be assessed by the command center for the use of the assault team.

The assault team needs to get the blueprints of the building to study the layout. The architects, the plumbers, or the engineers involved in the building construction could be of great help. Once the breaching areas are identified, the closed doors or the external walls could be blown by explosives.

The assault team should use distraction tactic to confuse the “tangos” before initiating the takedown. Flash bang grenades could be exploded in areas away from the entry points or tear gas canisters can be fired at the windows. A helicopter could buzz around the building to encourage terrorists not to stay in just one area. (You see this in “Die Hard” movies.)

If the terrorists are very tired already, the counterterrorist forces can do their assaults in the wee hours of the morning when terrorists are groggy. Simultaneous attack is enjoyable. One team can start from the roof after the power in the building has been cut off. Our soldiers can wear night vision goggles and use infrared chemlights to see their way. With the element of surprise, the terrorists will fumble and panic.

This will give our attack teams the upper hand in the situation. We can only hope that our military is doing this in Marawi. Our military should think like the terrorists because the Maute-Isis fighters have long prepared for this. Let us pray that the terrorists do not have the “Broken Arrow.”