Philippine, US Military Reactions Contradicting on Helicopter Firing

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, May 29, 2002

Philippine, US Military Reactions Contradicting on Helicopter Firing

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Philippine and U.S. military participating in the ongoing exercises in the southern Philippines contradicted in their reaction to the reported clash between two U.S. helicopters and a group of suspected Abu Sayyaf bandits.

Local military reports on Wednesday said that two armed U.S. helicopters exchanged fires on late Monday with a group of banditsbelieved to be members of the Abu Sayyaf on the southern island ofBasilan, the Philippine Star on-line news reported.

The helicopters were delivering supplies to military camps on Basilan, Philippine Army Colonel Alexander Aleo, commanding officer of the Filipino troops on the military exercises, was quoted as saying.

For his part, Major Richard Sater, spokesman for U.S. forces inthe southern Philippines, said the shooting was not "hostile fire"because it occurred during war games among the Filipino and American soldiers. The helicopters fired blanks, he added.

Philippine military spokesman Colonel Fredesvindo Covarrubias, on the contrary, maintained it was an attack by Abu Sayyaf membersas the helicopters were flying over Tuburan town on Basilan, a known haunt of the bandit group.

Covarrubias said about 10 gunmen opened fire at the HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopters, and the American soldiers on board the aircraft immediately returned fire. The attackers fled after the helicopters fought back.

"We cannot prevent attacks. These are indiscriminate acts by terrorists," Covarrubias said, adding, "we are going to take extraprecautions and additional security patrols in areas of training."

Filipino soldiers on the ground were sent off to pursue the bandits shortly after the conflict but there was no reports on whether any of the gunmen were captured.

The clash, if true, would have been the first time for the U.S.troops in Basilan to fight directly against the Abu Sayyaf which is still holding hostage American missionary couple Martin and Gracia Burnham, and a Filipina nurse Ediborah Yap.

The Abu Sayyaf rebel group is also allegedly linked to the al-Qaeda terror network of Osama bin Laden, suspected mastermind of the September 11 attacks in the U.S. A sect of the group is now hiding with the three hostages in the jungles on Basilan.

Over 1,000 U.S. soldiers are deployed in the southern Philippines including 160 special troops and 340 military engineers on Basilan in a series of military exercises targeting at the Abu Sayyaf bandits. The exercises are scheduled to end in July.

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