Two Philippine Army soldiers who suffered bullet wounds during an encounter with the Abu Sayyaf militants in Basilan received Wounded Personnel Medal (WPM) on Wednesday.
Brig. Gen. Orlando De Leon, Western Mindanao Command deputy commander, pinned the medals to Privates First Class Melchor Solayao, Jr., and Reynaldo Taroy.
Solayao and Taroy were wounded in the encounter against undetermined number of Abu Sayyaf group in Barangay Kuhon, Albarka town, Basilan Sunday morning.
At least two bandits also were reportedly killed and undetermined number others injured in the ensuing firefight.
Government forces were implementing a military operation against members of the ASG led by a certain Bashir Kasaran in Barangay Kuhun in Al-Barka.
Al-Barka is the same town where almost 4 years ago, 19 soldiers from the Army’s Special Forces were killed by forces from the ASG and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). It would be the worst operational blunders in the Army’s recent history. Officers from the AFP were court-martialedover the incident.
Two were found guilty while the other two, acquitted before a military court.
In 2007, some 23 troops from the Marines were also killed in Al-Barka during skirmishes with the MILF.
The MILF and the Philippine government have recently signed a peace deal that would pave the way to the creation of a new autonomous region in Muslim Mindanao.
However, the death of at least 65 individuals including 44 elite cops during a police operation gone awry in Mamasapano town, Maguindanao, have put the peace process at risk.
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