Palace mourns death of 8 Marines in Sulu ambush

Malacañang on Tuesday mourned the death of eight Marines killed in an ambush staged by Abu Sayyaf bandits in Sulu province Monday, but said the deaths were part of the war against terrorism. Cabinet Secretary Silvestre Bello III said it was “unfortunate" that the eight soldiers had to die as an “inevitable" consequence of the government’s efforts to stop terrorism. “Hindi natin maiwasan ang pagkamatay ng mga sundalo. Alam natin na there is an existing military conflict sa ating bansa. ... It is really unfortunate na merong mga miyembro ng Marine Corps na nasawi. So it is a very sad incident but 'di natin maiwasan dahil kailangang tugisin ang mga terorista (We cannot avoid it. We know there is an existing military conflict in that part of the south. It is really unfortunate that our Marines had to die. It is a very sad incident but we cannot avoid it because we must stop terrorism)," Bello said in an interview on dzXL radio. The government considers the Abu Sayyaf a terrorist group, which has links to the Indonesia-based Jemaah Islamiyah that has ties to the al-Qaeda terrorist network. Armed Forces of the Philippines information chief Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner Jr. said the troops were heading back to their camp Monday when they were ambushed. Brawner said pursuit operations are ongoing. "After the encounter we launched pursuit operations. The operations against the Abu Sayyaf will continue. But we scored big against them because we captured a major camp in Sulu," he said in a separate interview on dzXL radio Tuesday. Brawner said their goal is to disband the Abu Sayyaf group, adding they are now “moving towards that" objective. He added that last weekend’s military operations in Sulu stemmed from intelligence reports indicating the three major leaders of the Abu Sayyaf are meeting in the area. Meanwhile, Brawner said the Armed Forces is continuing its efforts to rescue three teachers abducted by the bandits last March. “Once we have accurate information that’s when we will push rescue operations nang sa gayon walang masyadong casualty (so there won’t be much) collateral damage," he said. Military officials said eight Marine soldiers were killed Monday afternoon in the ambush. Troops from the 4th Marine Battalion Landing Team were on their way to their base when they were waylaid by Abu Sayyaf members at Sitio Talatac in Bato-bato village around 1:30 p.m. Lt. Col. Ariel Caculitan, head of the Marine Battalion Landing Team 4 (MBLT 4), said his men were able to return fire, resulting in the death of five bandits. “Five died on their side and scores were wounded," he said. Brawner said the soldiers came from the Abu Sayyaf camp at Sitio Talibang in Barangay Buansa, Indanan town that the troops overran last Sunday. - GMANews.TV