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PHILIPPINES MILITARY AIRSTRIKES aimed at Islamist militants who are battling soldiers in a southern city instead killed 10 troops and injured seven others, the defence secretary said today.
“A group of our military armed men were hit by our own airstrikes, 10 killed,” Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana told reporters in Manila, saying the incident happened yesterday.
Security forces have been battling militants flying the black flags of the so-called Islamic State (IS) group in Marawi, a major Muslim city in the predominantly Catholic Philippines, since Tuesday last week.
The military has bombed and fired rockets from attack helicopters throughout the conflict at the militants, who have been hiding in residential areas holding hostages.
About 2,000 civilians are also trapped in the militant-held areas, according to the local government.
Military chiefs had repeatedly said the assaults involved “precision” and “surgical” airstrikes, and assured they were not harming any of the trapped civilians or hostages.
“It’s sad but sometimes it happens in the fog of war. The coordination was not properly done,” Lorenzana said as he announced the deaths.
He later AFP seven soldiers had also been wounded.
Most-wanted terrorist
The clashes erupted when security forces raided a house to arrest Isnilon Hapilon, a veteran Filipino militant regarded as IS’s leader in the Philippines. He is on the US government’s list of most-wanted terrorists.
Authorities said they were taken by surprise when dozens of gunmen emerged to protect Hapilon and then went on a rampage through Marawi, which has a population of 200,000.
Most of the residents had fled the city but the International Committee of the Red Cross has repeatedly expressed deep concern for those who remained trapped, and called for a humanitarian ceasefire.
“I think it’s horrific for the civilian people who are in there and we really hope that both sides can agree that the civilians should be given the opportunity to come out,” the deputy head of the ICRC’s Philippine delegation, Martin Thalmann, told AFP in Marawi yesterday.
President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law across the entire southern region of Mindanao in response to the crisis, which he described as the start of a major campaign by IS to establish a foothold in the Philippines.
Eighty nine militants have been killed in the fighting, and the gunmen have murdered 19 civilians, the military said yesterday.
The announcement of the friendly fire deaths brings the number of security forces killed to 31, and the combined death toll to 139.
My lord is anything working in this place, the country needs a complete reshuffle from top to bottom… Department after department being run by people who quite honestly do not seem to have a clue what they are doing…
Year on year it gets worse, government depts seem to be systematically inept or ran by incompetent people with little or no over sight, but that’s normal, what isn’t is the general publics sudden amnesia come election time. You get what you voted for, every 4 years you get the chance. Cue the triggered FFG bootlickers….
@Epgenetics29 Declan Christy: it was a 10 day passport express thing pre covid. And will be again when the dust settles. You need to relax. Cue the shinners jackboot lickers.
@Epgenetics29 Declan Christy: a lot of the backlog is applications filled out incorrectly and therefore applications need to be re submitted
@Epgenetics29 Declan Christy: Why always the blame on public and civil servants? The people who do all the dirty work at the civil service are largely a dedicated and hard working work force (as hard as their private sector counterparts anyways). It’s the way things are managed and the way the government is run, and the amount of bureaucracy and red tape involved in changing absolutely anything, that has many services the way they are. Let me also remind you that civil servants have barely received a pay increase in the last ten years, yet inflation and the cost of living has been through the roof the last few years, a great way to retain talent.
@Tomo: the Health service has the biggest ever budget provided by the state. Yet the problems still persist, minister and governments come and go yet civil servants are still there so it doesn’t take a genius to figure out where the problems are.
@Paul Furey: the express bit is gone for starters!
@Patrick O Connell: No no no no no!!!!!!! This is not joe publics fault which is now the narrative.
The passport office is heavily unionised and was deemed non essential during the pandemic.
They decide when they have received your documentation, which leaves people in no man’s land.
Turn the whole process over to private sector.
3rd world country services
@John Johnes: ye because the passport service in Afghanistan is so much better ..
@Ciaran: I wonder is his also Munsterman?
@Ciaran: great comment
Nobody will get fired and all have their beautiful pensions.
Those kids should check their privilege :-)
You can checkout….but you can never leave.
Why didn’t they apply in time ,off on a fancy holiday.
@Betty O Sullivan: 4 months should be plenty of time for a first time passport and yet, here I am. Still waiting. Different answers from different agents all the time. Our photo was refused the first time because she was smiling. Imagine that lol. A 16 month old must have a neutral expression WHILE looking at the camera. It’s absolute NONSENSE.
@Betty O Sullivan: By the way, it isn’t a “FANCY” holiday for 95% of these people. I have scrimped and saved arse ways with my husband to be able to afford a holiday. These families have sacrificed and suffered enough over the last 2 years.
@Scarletrose: Fulling expecting an issue with my 3 week old babys photo. Next to Impossible to meet their out dated requirements especially where the Child is so young.
@Amanda Anderson: just make sure you get both ears in the photo and it’ll be good
have your say