Heavy fighting in Basilan leaves 5 Marine soldiers dead, 25 others wounded

Major General Benjamin Dolorfino, commandant of the Philippine Marines Corps, pins wounded personnel medal to Capt. Julie Palanca, one of the wounded soldiers in a clash with Moro rebels in Basilan on Sunday, as Lt. Gen. Nelson Allaga looks on during their visit at the Camp Navarro General Hospital in Upper Calarian, Zamboanga City on Tuesday.

Heavy fighting between government troops and a combined Abu Sayyaf and Moro rebels raged in the island province of Basilan over the weekend as the military said they suffered at least five soldiers dead and 25 others wounded.

Army 1st Lt. Esteffani Cacho, spokesperson for the Western Mindanao Command, said undetermined armed men attacked the Marine Battalion Landing Team-8 based in Bohe Libong in Al Barka, triggering a series of clashes.

"During that series of encounterss which lasted until early morning, the government troops suffered five dead and 24 wounded on the marines side and for the Air Force, there was one pilot of the OV-10 that was wounded," Cacho told reporters.

She linked a combined forces of the Abu Sayyaf and rogue Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) kidnap-for-ransom groups as the attackers who are responsible for many kidnappings of Basilan.

Eid Kabalu, senior MILF leader, confirmed their forces in Basilan suffered three dead, including Sattar Alih, head of the MILF ceasefire monitoring team in the island province, and six others injured in the fighting.

But he denied they were coddling the Abu Sayyaf and accused the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) of violating the ceasefire agreement.

Sunday's fighting in Al Barka was the second major encounter since last year after marine soldiers searching for a kidnapped Italian priest Giancarlo Bossi, who was seized on June 10 in Zamboanga Sibugay, clashed with suspected Abu Sayyaf kidnappers.

The fighting left 14 marines dead, but ten of them were later beheaded by the terrorists led by Puruji Indama. Bossi was freed six weeks later in Zamboanga del Sur province in exchange for a huge ransom.

Government forces have now confined the kidnappers to parts of Al Barka and its adjacent areas, according to Lt. Gen. Nelson Allaga, chief of the Western Mindanao Command (WesMinCom).

He, however, declined to give further details on the ongoing military operations in Basilan.

Top military officials led by Maj. Gen. Benjamin Dolorfino, chief of the Philippine Marines Corps, and Gen. Allaga had pinned earlier wounded personnel medals to 25 Marine soldiers who clashed with the Abu Sayyaf and MILF in Al Barka.

The five slain soldiers were airlifted to Marine headquarters in Manila, where President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo would be visiting them on Wednesday as part of the tradition of Marines. They will be burried in the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

Lieutenant Cacho also announced the release of seven quarry workers in Tuburan town who were abducted early December.

Freed were identified as Wagnerson Toledo, Tomas de Leon Jr., Albert Manolis, Rodel Fernando, Raffy Ragmak, Alfred Layam and Joebert Natividad. Three of them are from Labuan, Zamboanga City.

They were initially brought to the 1st Marine Brigade's headquarters in Tabiawan, Isabela City for debriefing and medical check up.

Lamitan Mayor Roderick Furigay on Monday night broke out the news of the seven quarry workers' release. Furigay, in a national media report, said the victims' release was phoned to him by the kidnappers around 9 p.m. Monday.

He said he called up Barangan Bulanting chairman Asdi Alki to fetch the victims in Tuburan.

Reports said local officials paid the kidnappers "board and lodging" in exchange of the quarry workers' release.

The seven workers were returning to their office on board a dump truck when they were stopped and taken by masked gunmen.

One of the freed workers told reporters that they were seized by about seven gunmen in fatigue uniforms and were tied while in captivity.

Asked if they were harmed by their captors while in captivity, De Leon said: "No hindi naman kami sinaktan. Pinakain kami tatlong beses sa isang araw."

Meanwhile, Cacho said the released seven quarry workers, which are three from Zamboanga City, one from Cagayan de Oro City, and three from Lamitan City, Basilan, were abducted by MILF.

It was learned they were abducted because the owner of the gravel company that they're working for has an offense with the MILF.

"They (7 workers) were taken in retaliation (by MILF). And in fact they further said that before they were released, their captors told them not to return to Basilan because they will be harmed," Cacho said.