Marine convoy fired at in Lanao

The Philippine Star 11/11/2005

COTABATO CITY — Unidentified men sprayed with automatic gunfire a convoy of Marines belonging to a special group helping enforce the ceasefire with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, wounding one of them and causing panic among villagers in Pualas, Lanao del Sur where the ambush took place.

Marine Gen. Mohammad Ben Dolorfino, chief of the government’s Ad-Hoc Joint Action Group, said his men were on their way to Cotabato City from their headquarters in Lanao del Sur when the ambushers opened fire, wounding a certain Sgt. Luna.

The gunmen, positioned on both sides of the Secretary Narciso Ramos Highway in Pualas town, immediately fled after the Marines, led by a certain Maj. Gaerlan, returned fire and engaged them in a running gunbattle.

The wounded Luna, Gaerlan’s security escort, is now recuperating in a hospital here. — John Unson


http://www.philstar.com/philstar/NEWS200511119904.htm

Fighting spreads in Philippine south

Zamboanga City, Philippines - Philippine troops on Sunday pressed on with an offensive against al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf rebels on a southern island, where two days of fighting has killed at least seven people, officials said.

Despite heavy rains, troops were inching their way into the jungles of Indanan town, Jolo island, 1,000 kilometres south of Manila, where Abu Sayyaf rebels were believed to be hiding, said Brigadier General Alexander Aleo.

'The offensive is ongoing,' said Aleo, commander of a regional anti-terrorism task force. 'There will be no ceasefire.'

Aleo said at least four marines have been killed and 21 others injured in the fighting since Friday, when the soldiers encountered hundreds of Abu Sayyaf rebels during a combat patrol operation.

At least three Abu Sayyaf rebels were confirmed to have been killed. The rebel casualties, however, could be as high as 16 according to intelligence reports and radio intercepts, he added.

The Abu Sayyaf is the smallest but most violent Moslem rebel group in the southern Philippines. It has been blamed for some of the worst terror attacks in the country, including the bombing of a passenger ferry off Manila, killing more than 100 in 2004.

source

Marine soldier hurt in Misuari breakaway group attack

ZAMBOANGA CITY – A Marine soldier was wounded when an undetermined number of men belonging to a Misuari breakaway group led by Ustadz Habier Malik fired mortar shells into the Siit Public Market in Panamao town, Sulu province late Sunday, a military official here said Monday.

However, the 10 p.m. attack did not result in major damage, Brigadier General Alex Aleo said.

Aleo said they received reports of possible assaults to be carried out by Muslim rebels to divert the military’s attention from its massive operations in Indanan town where at least seven soldiers and possibly up to 20 Muslim fighters have been reported killed.

Nur Misuari, former governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, is on trial for alleged rebellion after leading a failed uprising in Jolo in 2001. He has been detained at a national police camp in Laguna since January 2002.

Appeals for the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) leader’s release have been made for health reasons.

source

7 marines KIA (RIP) 22-25 ASGs dead (may they rot in hell), camp overrun but ASG leadershp and the rest managed to escape (operations halted due to heavy rains? - unleash the freaking SRs - its their kind of weather! :rifle: )

Philippine Marines execute a free-fall jump from 9,999 feet in the air after jumping from a U.S. Marine Corps KC-130 Hercules aircraft during the first bilateral training in Talon Vision 2006. The simulated re-supply jump sent 29 service members and three palettes of cargo into a landing zone at Clark Air Base Oct. 17. Marines and sailors from III Marine Expeditionary Force, Okinawa, Japan, are participating in Talon Vision, an annual bilateral training exercise with the Armed Forces of the Philippines in order to enhance interoperability, increase readiness and continue professional relationships.
Photo by: Sgt. Mike Camacho


story

Marines foil kidnap try on MSU group

By Lino De La Cruz
The Philippine Star 12/09/2005

MARAWI CITY — Men of the 2nd Marine Battalion foiled an attempt to abduct a group of faculty members and students of the Mindanao State University (MSU) in Balo-i, Lanao del Norte last Tuesday.

The foiled kidnap try occurred two days after Felipe and Helen Lucañas, both instructors of the MSU-Lanao National Comprehensive School of Arts and Trades, were rescued from their captors in Piagapo, Lanao del Sur.

The Lucañases’ rescue was a rare joint assault of the Marines, policemen and Moro Islamic Liberation Front guerrillas.

MSU elementary teacher Eugene Sumile told reporters that two armed motorcycle-riding men tried to block the path of the passenger jeepney they were riding in in the outskirts of Balo-i.

The jeepney driver, sensing that the armed men could be members of a kidnap-for-ransom group, stepped on the vehicle’s accelerator and sped off. The two men, however, gave chase.

Upon reaching Barangay Nangka in Balo-i town, the MSU group sought help from the members of the 2nd Marine Battalion manning a checkpoint there.

This prompted the Marines to pursue the two motorcycle-riding men who hastily turned back and fled.

According to Biema Ladlad, a reporter of the Radyo ng Bayan, who was among the jeepney passengers, the two motorcycle-riding men could be henchmen of a certain De Leon, a notorious criminal slain by Marines in Balo-i two months ago.

http://www.philstar.com/philstar/NEWS200512099904.htm

MBLT6,

1.) Whats the latest composition or units that compose the marine ready force?

2.) So the PMC has develped tactics for using the 40mm Bofors for destroying surface targets such as buildings, ships, armor, etc?

thanks

Fellows,


Sayang may nabasa ako sa dyaryo some days ago about the assault on a Moslem tero hideout that was conducted by the Marines.

The Marine's SOP group was involved here, kasi the news mentioned of a "special operations team."

The assault was done at night, which surprised the teros and led to the death of several teros.

Can anyone tell us more about this?

These Marine SOPs are getting more active these days. :thumb: :thumb:

what exactly is a Marine SOP? iba ba to sa Marine force recon?

Not Force Recon.

Parang strike-unit ng Marines. Organic sa MBLT.

Armed with silenced assault rifles (NFWS) and NVGs.

Parang NSOG or LRC ang dating. :thumb:

:thumb: run terrors run!! :rifle:
hmmm not force recon... but were they EX-force recon?? kasi ala na ko ibang alam na spec ops sa PMC

ano meaning SOP?

Special Operations Platoon

as per MBLT6

PSG man slain in Monumento

A member of the Presidential Security Group (PSG ) was shot dead yesterday by a lone gunman in the busy Monumento area in Caloocan City.

Police said Cpl. Valdimir Mongkal, 31, a member of the Philippine Marines assigned at the PSG Operations Control in Malacañang Palace,sustained a gunshot wound in the right temple and died while undergoing treatment at the MCU Hospital.

Members of the Northern Police Traffic Enforcement Group who were in the vicinity of the shooting scene arrested the suspect, Rodrigo Cabaya, 58, of San Luis, Pampanga.

Investigators said Cabaya claimed he was avenging the killing of his brother last year by the suspect in Baliwag, Bulacan.

The police, however, expressed doubt on the suspect’s allegations after it was verified that the victim has never been assigned in Bulacan.

Witnesses told police the Marine corporal was walking near the Gloris Lumber along EDSA when Cabaya shot him with a .45 caliber pistol with silencer.

The same witnesses said the gunman tried to get the cellphone of the victim after the shooting. (Willie L. Catapat)

http://www.mb.com.ph/MTNN2006060165658.html

Mistaken identity or Sparrow hit?

To Cpl. Mongkal, :salute:

Fire hits Marine headquarters in south

y Joel Guinto
INQ7.net

A SMALL fire hit the First Marine Brigade headquarters in Marawi City a little past noon Tuesday, damaging several low caliber firearms, the spokesman for the Philippine Marines said.

Initial investigation showed the fire broke out around 12:45 a.m. at the base motor pool, where mechanics and welders were working, and was caused by acetylene, Lt. Col. Ariel Caculitan said in a phone interview.

It was put out after 30 minutes.

Although the fire spread to the armory, Caculitan said the high explosives stored there were not affected, “only several pieces of firearms. There was only minimal damage and no one was hurt in the incident."

http://news.inq7.net/breaking/index.php?in...&story_id=79822

it just hit me, bakit kaya puro armory ang nasusunog, isn't it that it is supposed to be the most secured place in a military/police camp? Just look at the list of armories destroyed by fire since 2004 (incomplete though).

Feb. 25, 2004 - PNP Armory, Camp Crame

April 19, 2006 - Army Reserve Command Armory - Ft. Bonifacio

June 2006 - 1st Marine Brigade Armory

is it negligence or lack of funds for periodic checking of facilities?

Marines aid MM residents

By JESSE EDEP, The Manila Times Researcher

The Philippine Marines on Thursday dispatched rescue teams to flooded areas of Metro Manila in the wake of Typhoon Glenda.

"A Marine alert rescue unit, composed of two officers and 22 enlisted personnel, was dispatched to Malabon to assist the local government in the rescue and relief operations," Navy Commander Giovanni Bacordo said.

The team, Bacordo said, transported a number of stranded residents in Dampalit to higher ground on a Marine patrol vehicle, two M35 trucks, two light amphibious riverine craft and two rubber boats. He added that more than a hundred people were rescued.

In addition to the people brought to safe areas, the Marines recovered three bodies, apparently drowning victims.

Separate teams were also deployed in Caloocan and Navotas to help in the search and rescue operation and to bring relief assistance to affected residents, Bacordo said.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=45729

:ssalute:

Marines to help secure Cebu entry, exit points

http://www.mb.com.ph/PROV2006101476962.html

marines arriving in cebu, ito ba ang bagong field gun nila?

:armycool: Looks good to me, but do they really need cannons to secure the ASEAN, or is it part of their security operations?

Those are part of their units equipment. It doesnt mean those are not really needed but they must take care also of the equipments. bring them were ever you are assigned. like what the riffle means a lot to them. right?

http://timawa.net/forum/index.php?topic=6171.0

http://timawa.net/forum/index.php?topic=6172.0

Marine trainee kills suspected Abu bandit in Sulu


INQUIRER.net
Last updated 03:17pm (Mla time) 12/19/2006

A TRAINEE for the Marines killed a suspected Abu Sayyaf member over the weekend after the bandit shot a fellow soldier in the southern Philippine island province of Sulu, a spokesman for the Philippine Marines said Tuesday.

Jerome Dacolong, who was on security patrol in the area of Jolo last Saturday, gunned down a suspected member of the Abu Sayyaf who shot and wounded Technical Sergeant Rovello Alvarado, said Lieutenant Colonel Ariel Caculitan.

Alvarado was on board a parked military truck after going to the public market when the attack took place, Caculitan said.

Alvarado is recovering at the Camp Navarro Hospital in Zamboanga City after he survived two gunshot wounds to his chest, said Caculitan.

Caculitan said it was not confirmed whether Alvarado's attacker was with other Abu Sayyaf bandits. He said no arrests had been made after the shooting.

Some 7,500 soldiers have surrounded Sulu in the hope of catching Abu Sayyaf chieftain Kahdaffy Janjalani and Jemaah Islamiyah explosives experts Dulmatin and Umar Patek, who are believed to be hiding in the
island's jungles.
Joel Guinto

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/...rticle_id=39167

6 Abu Sayyaf members killed in gunbattle

2 in Lamitan siege collared

By Joel Guinto, Julie Alipala
INQUIRER.net, Inquirer
Last updated 03:42am (Mla time) 01/07/2007


ZAMBOANGA CITY -- Six Abu Sayyaf bandits, including two ranking leaders, were killed during a fierce clash with soldiers in Tawi-tawi around 5 p.m. Saturday, military officials said.

Military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Bartolome Bacarro earlier said that seven militants were killed, based on an initial report from troops in Tawi-Tawi, the Philippines' southernmost province, about 1,050 kilometers (656 miles) southwest of Manila.

An official report corrected the figure to six dead, he said.

Commodore Geronimo Defensor, Naval Forces Western Mindanao commander, said that among those killed was Jundam Jamalul alias Black Killer. The US government had included Jamalul on its list of terrorists and offered a bounty of $40,000 for his capture or death.

Aside from Jamalul, only two others of the slain guerrillas -- Abu Hubaida and a Gadar -- have been identified so far, Defensor said.

"Four others remain unidentified but all seven bodies were recovered along with firearms," he said, adding the bodies had taken to Panglima Sugala town in Tawi-Tawi.

Defensor said government forces also recovered a twin-engine pump boat.

Brigadier General Juancho Sabban, commander of the 3rd Marine Brigade, said that Philippine Marines spotted Jamalul's seven-man group in Patikul, Sulu, as early as Friday.

"There was initial tracking of the bandits on Friday night in Capual Island," Sabban said, adding that the guerrillas fled by boat to Tawi-Tawi after a brief clash.

"Elements of the 2nd Marine Battalion Landing Team (MBLT) pursued the enemies up to Tawi-tawi," Sabban said.

Sabban said government forces caught up with Jamalul's group in Balimbing village in the town of Panglima Sugala.

Defensor said Navy forces had put up a blockade to prevent the group from slipping away.

None of the government forces was wounded in the clash, he said.

Jamalul's group was involved in the 2000 Sipadan hostage-taking incident where more than a dozen people, including Westerners, were taken by the bandit group at gunpoint from the Malaysian dive resort. He was also allegedly involved in other Abu Sayyaf attacks.

Earlier Saturday, two Abu Sayyaf members involved in the Lamitan hospital siege in Basilan province were arrested in Zamboanga City.

Bacarro identified the bandits as Abu Sampang and Wakil Sampang, who were collared at a restaurant on Governor Camins Avenue at around 2:30 p.m.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadl...rticle_id=42031

In an update;

Good job, Marines! :thumb:

10 ASGs, 3 troopers killed in Sulu clash


At least 10 Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) members and three soldiers were killed while scores were reportedly wounded at noon yesterday as Marine commandos engaged the band of extremist in Patikul, Sulu, a military official revealed yesterday.



Military officials said the operation also resulted in the capture of three bandits. They were taken to the nearby Marine Headquarters for interrogation. The encounter occurred two days after the Army’s elite Special Forces killed ASG commander Jainal Antel Sali, alias Abu Solai-man, in a three-hour gun battle in Talipao, Sulu.

Lt. Col. Ariel Caculitan, spokesperson of the Philippine Marine Corps (PMC), said the firefight erupted at noon yesterday when the Special Operations Platoon of the 9th Marine Brigade chanced upon at least 60 bandits in the vicinity of Sitio Biti in Barangay Timpook.

"We believe the group is under ASG Commander Radullan Sahiron," said Caculitan.

It was not clear, however, whether or not Sahiron was with the group during the gunfight which, Caculitan said, lasted for more than one hour.

Sahiron, alias Commander Putol, is one of the two remaining ASG top leaders reportedly trapped in Sulu.

Four ASG sub-commanders were already killed since January 6 with Khadaffy Janjalani believed to be killed in September last year and whose body was exhumed in a gravesite in Patikul town last month.

Caculitan said the encounter between the two forces was fierce but the bandits were forced to flee after an hour.

The identities of the slain bandits, whose cadavers were retrieved during the clearing operations, are still being established, said Caculitan.

A number of firearms were also seized in the encounter site but Caculitan could not give the exact number and the specific type of firearms confiscated as ground troopers are still scouring the area.

Meanwhile, President Arroyo thanked yesterday the United States for its continuous technical support in the hunt against terror groups.

"This strategic victory is proof of the success of the Philippine-U.S. partnership in the war against terror," said Arroyo in the meeting of the RP-U.S. Philippine Defense Reform Executive Steering Committee in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City yesterday morning.

"We thank the United States for your leadership and support," she added.

The military earlier acknowledged the contribution of the American troops in the killing of Solaiman, saying the technical support the latter have provided through their high-tech equipment led the local troops to Solaiman’s lair in Talipao.

http://www.tempo.com.ph/news.php?aid=28729

1, 500 troops sent to Basilan in war vs Abu Sayyaf

By Joel Guinto
INQUIRER.net
Last updated 05:32pm (Mla time) 01/19/2007

MANILA, Philippines -- THE MILITARY will transfer an entire Marine brigade, or roughly 1,500 troops, from Central Mindanao to the island province of Basilan, further tightening its grip on bailiwicks of the al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf, an official said Friday.

The 1st Marine Brigade, originally stationed in Marawi City, will be shipped to Basilan next week, exchanging places with the Army’s 103rd Brigade, Navy Flag Officer-in-Command Vice Admiral Rogelio Calunsag said.

It will join two the 2nd and 3rd Marine Brigades in the hunt for the bandits. The two brigades are part of a military dragnet in Sulu Island, where Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah leaders are believed to be hiding, Calunsag told a news conference at the Navy headquarters in Manila.

"That is the purpose of this [deployment], for us to have a heightened, sustained operation [against the bandits]," Calunsag said.

Calunsag said the transfer was part of the Navy's Fleet-Marine concept, aimed at consolidating Marine forces in the provinces of Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, and Basilan, known bailiwicks of the Abu Sayyaf.

On Thursday, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo vowed to finish off the Abu Sayyaf with a "hand of steel."

This followed the death of several Abu Sayyaf leaders in clashes with the military in the last two weeks, including the extremists' spokesman, Jainal Sali alias Abu Sulaiman, who is on the US and Philippines’ most-wanted lists and with a $5-million bounty on his head from Washington.

Sulaiman, an engineer, masterminded some of the most deadly terror attacks and kidnappings in the Philippines. They include a bombing that gutted a ferry in February 2004, killing 116 people in the second deadliest terror attack in Southeast Asia, and the abduction of three Americans and 17 Filipino tourists and workers from a resort island in 2001.

Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khadaffy Janjalani was believed to have been killed in a September 4 encounter in Patikul, Sulu. Tissue samples from his alleged remains, which were dug up in the area in December, have been subjected to DNA testing.

Calunsag clarified that only nine Abu Sayyaf members, not 10 according to preliminary military reports, were killed in an encounter with the Marines in Patikul last Thursday.

He said three soldiers were also killed while four bandits were captured and detained at the 3rd Marine Brigade headquarters in Jolo, Sulu.

One of the captives include Alpin Sahibul, son of Abu Sayyaf sub-commander Tandah Sahibul, who led the bandits in the Thursday firefight along with sub-commanders Abu Pula and Doc Abu, Calunsag said.

Calunsag identified the nine fatalities as Ibnu Karain, Ogie Ahmad, Taib Kaddam, Rudy Julalih, Jun Samsula, Kaddam Usman, Mamee Julalih, a certain Ablay, and a certain Salail.

He identified one of the slain soldiers as Corporal Enrico dela Cruz.

Basilan's mountains and thick forests had been the hideouts of the Abu Sayyaf, but they have been largely driven to seek refuge with others on Jolo in the wake of US military training and humanitarian operations that started in 2002.

A US-backed offensive was launched on Jolo in August, targeting top Abu Sayyaf leaders and two members of the Indonesia-based terror network Jemaah Islamiyah -- Dulmatin and Umar Patek -- both blamed for the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people in Bali, Indonesia.
With a report from AP


http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/...rticle_id=44434

:salute:

http://philstar.com/philstar/NEWS200701200408.htm

Marine battalion to augment Sulu troops

more

:salute: good luck

This is an actual Philippine Marine combat footage with V-150's and PAF OV-10 Bronco's supporting.

Hope the Video works.

http://www.gmanews.tv/video/5970/AFP-secur...itan-Ag-in-Sulu

God bless . . .

New Teeth

Not only did it has a new teeth design, it now has .50 cal guns for more grit!

the GMA TV crew was embedded with the Marine unit?

I hope they do more of this, like what CNN is doing in Iraq. embedding their reporters in small units.

Even though it was a successful operation I would not be ecstatic about it. I'd be grim faced. Namatayan tayo ng marami. Lalo kung kasusuklaman ang kalaban.(we suffered casualties. The more will I hate the enemy)

Marines take over war on Sayyaf, JI :thumb:

anuary 23, 2008
Updated 03:32:25 (Mla time)
Julie Alipala Ed General
Philippine Daily Inquirer


JOLO, SULU – The Marines were called in to finish the job against the Abu Sayyaf and its allies from the terror group Jemaah Islamiyah despite suffering several debacles in the past against Moro gunmen.

Capt. Walid Kee, civil-military officer of the Army’s 104th Infantry Brigade on Thursday announced that the Marines were taking over the duties of soldiers from the 35th Infantry Battalion.

As soon as the announcement was made, members of the Marine Battalion Landing Team 6, led by Col. Jessie Bugayong, arrived in Basilan aboard the Navy ship LST 501.

“We all will be transferred to Lanao del Sur and in Central Mindanao,” Kee said.

The Marines immediately took over the camp of the 35th IB in Bud Dahu.

Col. Antonio Mark Supnet, head of the Army’s 104th Infantry Brigade, said he was hoping that the Marines would also continue the peace and development projects started by the Army.

Heavy casualties

Supnet said the war on terror could not be won by force alone. “It is more about the relationship (with the people),” he said.

The Marines have suffered some of the heaviest casualties in the AFP in its war on guerrillas and terrorism.

In 2006, at least six Marines were killed when they clashed with Abu Sayyaf bandits in Indanan town.

Last year, five Marines died in Camp Jabal Uhud also in Sulu.

On July 10, 2007 14 Marines were killed by Abu Sayyaf bandits in Albarka, Basilan. Ten of them were beheaded.

A month later, 15 Marines, including five officers, were killed in a clash with Abu Sayyaf gunmen in the towns of Ungkaya Pukan and Tipo-Tipo Central also in Basilan.

Good projects

Supnet listed several projects implemented by his unit during the past eight years, which, he said, helped in the military’s campaign against violence.

Among these, he said, were the Balik Barangay program for war evacuees and the Salaam projects that involved the construction of school buildings, mosques, barangay roads and multipurpose centers.

He said the Army in Sulu had taken pride in these accomplishments more than its other achievements.

“It is not in the number of firearms that we have recovered, it is not in the number of the Abu Sayyaf that we have neutralized, but more of the help that we extended to our fellow Filipinos,” Supnet said.

http://services.inquirer.net/express/08/01...114133-xml.html

The Fleet-Marine concept is a good startegy for island provinces like Sulu because it simplifies and speed up cooperation among participating units.

Good luck, Marines and Navy!

Some old reports:



GEARING FOR WAR. Elements of the Marine Battalion Landing Team 11 under Lt. Colonel Nathaniel Casem proceeding to Panamao town. Troops are on alert after the heavy encounters in the areas of the Philippine Army in Maimbung and Parang towns. INQUIRER MINDANAO/JULIE S. ALIPALA





WE ARE READY: Bangsamoro Women of Sulu say they are ready to defend their ranks. Private Astor Potoy Jr of the 33rd Infantry Battalion confirmed to the Philippine Daily Inquirer that women were involved in the Barangay (village) Tambaking, Maimbung encounter on August 9, 2007 that left 15 enlisted personnel and one officer dead. The photo was taken April 2007 at the Barangay Bwansa, Indanan town when Special Forces and Scout Rangers "accidentally penetrated" the territory of Lupah Sug State Revolutionary Chairman Ustadz Khaid Adjibun. INQUIRER MINDANAO/JULIE S. ALIPALA





ISABELA CITY, Basilan – Bright green mangroves dot the coastline of Basilan, the site of the July 10 beheadings of 10 Marines, when viewed from up in the air on board a UH-1H helicopter. INQUIRER.NET/JOEL GUINTO





Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro hands over financial assistance to a relative of a slain Army soldier during his visit to the Western Mindanao Command headquarters in Zamboanga City.





FOG OF WAR. A convoy of heavily armed Army troops in Jolo, Sulu appears to be shrouded in fog, which is actually dust kicked up by the vehicles' passage. INQUIRER/EDWIN BACASMAS

Courtesy of Mybesthomes Forum by goodshepherd

:patrioticpinoy: :armycheers:

THE TRUE CASUALTIES OF WAR. Children from families displaced by the fighting in Sulu await their ration of food at the evacuation center in Panglima Tingkahan school in Parang. INQUIRER/EDWIN BACASMAS





















Relatives mourn over the flag-draped casket of 2Lt. Ludwig Salvador upon arrival at the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City Monday. AP





SYMPATHY. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo consoles relatives of Marines slain in battle with the Abu Sayyaf in Basilan last Saturday. The remains of 13 of the 15 fallen soldiers are at the Bonifacio Naval Station gymnasium in Fort Bonifacio. INQUIRER.net/Joel Guinto


Courtesy of Mybeshomes Forum by goodshepherd

CASUALTIES OF WAR. Evacuees rest by the side of the road as they flee their homes to avoid being caught in hostilities as government troops move in closer to what they believe to be an Abu Sayyaf camp in Tipo-Tipo, Basilan. INQUIRER/EDWIN BACASMAS





WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH ... President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo gets going -- straight to war-shattered Basilan. At the 1st Marine Brigade headquarters in Tabiawan, Isabela City, Ms Arroyo boosts the morale of the troops who had been fighting a war that’s gone to the dogs. She later joined them in a "boodle fight" -- a feast of curacha (a local crab), rice and native noodles. INQUIRER/EDWIN BACASMAS





SOLDIERS AND CIVILIANS. An overloaded jeep passes amidst military trucks in Ungkaya Pukan, Basilan. PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER/EDWIN BACASMAS





PATROL. Marines soldiers patrol before dusk to secure the perimeter area of their temporary camp in Barangay Materling, Ungkaya Pukan, Basilan. PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER/EDWIN BACASMAS





INNOCENTS IN TIME OF WAR Yakan kids wave to Marines aboard an armored truck in Poblacion Ungkaya Pukan, Basilan, on Monday. The soldiers were on their way to reinforce their comrades laying siege to an Abu Sayyaf camp in Barangay Silangkum. EDWIN BACASMAS





On the ground, Jolo teems with the sounds of war but its skyline is defined by the serenity of the Masjid Tulay mosque towering above the residential and commercial structures in the heart of downtown. EDWIN BACASMAS

Courtesy of Mybesthomes Forum by goodshepherd

[





THE SENTINEL. A Marine scans the surrounding terrain as he stands guard on the perimeter of his unit’s bivouac in Tipo-Tipo, Basilan. INQUIRER/EDWIN BACASMAS

Courtesy of Mybesthomes Forum by goodshepherd

Amazing Photos. Thanks Spearhead.

great images :ssalute: