Six JSOG officers killed by ‘friendly fire’; probe on

From the Daily Tribune (Jul 4): Six JSOG officers killed by ‘friendly fire’; probe on

Another military blunder?

An inquiry is now ongoing to determine whether there was a “misfire” of artillery that resulted in the death of six members of the military’s elite Joint Special Operations Group (JSOG) during an operation in Sulu province.

An informed source said that the Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom), which has jurisdiction over military units deployed in Sulu, created a Board of Inquiry (BoI) to look into the incident last June 19 in Barangay Kabuntakas, Patikul.

The source admitted there were reports that the death of six members of JSOG was caused by a “friendly fire.”

“Wesmincom is now conducting an investigation, a BoI was created for that,” said the official, who requested anonymity.

“Those are the reports now subject of investigation by the BoI. There is nothing clear as of now,” he added.

The incident stemmed from an intense clash between elements of the 2nd Marine Brigade and Abu Sayyaf terrorist in the hinterlands of Patikul at around 6:30 a.m last June 19.

A Marine lieutenant was killed during the clash.

Hours later, six JSOG members were also killed after they were hit reportedly by a mortar fire in Barangay Kabuntakas.

Initial report, at that time, said that the JSOG, composed of Army soldiers, were dispatched to reinforce the Marines engaged by the Abu Sayyaf but were hit by a mortar.

However, there were reports saying that the JSOG were hit by a “misfire” from other military units.

“That is the subject of the investigation. There are reports saying they were hit by mortar while other information said it was a cannon…so we cannot say what really transpired until after the BoI completes its report,” the officer said.

The source said that part of the inquiry would be to determine if the artillery used were not “defective.”

“You can only plot your target…after firing, you’ll never know if the ammos will work based on the plot or if fail because they are defective,” he said.

Another officer, however, downplayed the possibility that a “friendly fire” hit the JSOG personnel.

“Initial plotting showed they (JSOG personnel) were not along the line of fire,” the second source said.

“In Sulu, lawless elements, particularly the Abu Sayyaf group, have mortars and other heavy armaments, including IEDs (improvised explosive devices) being used against government troops,” he added.

http://www.tribune.net.ph/nation/six-jsog-officers-killed-by-friendly-fire-probe-on