Hard day for the Army

From the Manila Standard Today (Jan 23): Hard day for the Army

THE military took a beating on Tuesday after it absorbed at least 15 casualties, including one fatality, in at least four separate clashes in as many provinces in Mindanao, according to military reports submitted on the very day President Aquino installed new Army commander Lt. Gen. Noel Coballes.

The military reports said a soldier was killed while six others were wounded in ambuscades staged by the communist New People’s Army in the provinces of Davao Oriental, Misamis Oriental and Bukidnon, all within a period of eight hours. At the same time, Abu Sayyaf bandits ambushed a truckload of Army special forces in the hinterlands of Basilan province, resulting in the injury of seven commandos.

The series of incidents started shortly after 12:20 a.m. of Tuesday when two trucks bearing troops of the 28th Infantry Battalion hit a landmine in Lupon, Davao Oriental, according to Lt. Col. Eugenio Julio Osias IV, spokesman of the 4th Infantry Division.

Osias said the soldiers were on their way back to headquarters from security and combat operations when the second truck in the convoy hit the landmine.“Six were wounded and immediately brought to the provincial hospital, but one soldier did not make it. Private First Class Jhasam Diaz died while being treated in the hospital. The rest of the injured are now at the Tagum Regional Hospital and Davao Oriental Provincial Hospital in Mati City,” Osias said.

Five hours later, the second incident happened around 5:20 a.m. when government forces encountered a squad of NPA rebels and engaged them in a 40-minure gunfight in San Fernando, Bukidnon.

As the battle ended in Bukidnon, the third incident happened around 6 a.m. in the coastal town of Kinoguitan in Misamis Oriental with 100 NPA rebels in full-battle gear raided the town, set up checkpoints and ransacked the homes of known soldiers and retired policemen.

The fourth clash occurred 7:40 a.m. in Ungkaya Pukan town in Basilan when Abu Sayyaf bandits ambushed patrolling troops of the 4th Scout Ranger Battalion and wounded seven commandos, according to Western Mindanao Command spokesman Col. Rodrigo Gregorio. disclosed that seven soldiers were wounded when the Abu Sayyaf bandits ambushed them around(missing text).

Gregorio said seven soldiers were wounded in the 20-minute firefight but the Abu Sayyaf bandits fled upon the arrival of reinforcements. The wounded soldiers were airlifted to the Camp Navarro General Hospital in Zamboanga City.

http://manilastandardtoday.com/2013/01/23/hard-day-for-the-army/