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Recent Appearances...

Home Front: WoT

Camp Pendleton identifies CA Marine killed in Philippines plane crash

2025-02-10

[10News] He had a name. Sgt. Jacob Durham
SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Marine officials at Camp Pendleton today identified Sgt. Jacob M. Durham as a U.S. Marine involved in a fatal aircraft incident on Feb. 6, in the Philippine Province of Maguindanao del Sur.

Sgt. Durham, a California native, joined the Marine Corps in 2021. He trained as an Electronic Intelligence/Electromagnetic Warfare Analyst with the 1st Radio Battalion, I Marine Expeditionary Force Information Group. He was recently promoted to his current rank on Feb. 1.

Camp Pendleton said Sgt. Durham received multiple awards and decorations for his accomplishments. This includes the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, a Meritorious Mast and Naval Aircrew Insignia.

"We mourn the loss of , who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country," 1st Radio Battalion Commanding Officer Lt. Col. Mabel B. Annunziata said. "Sgt. Durham embodied the highest traditions of the Marine Corps—exemplifying composure, intelligence, and selfless leadership. He was deeply respected and loved by his fellow Marines. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends, and his fellow Marines during this profoundly difficult time."

Authorities say Sgt. Durham was participating in a routine surveillance mission in support of U.S.-Philippine security cooperation activities. The aircraft used is intended to provide intelligence information, surveillance intel and reconnaissance support for Phillippine allies.

The cause of the incident is currently under investigation.

Link

Southeast Asia

US Marine, 3 contractors killed in aircraft crash in southern Philippines

2025-02-07

See also here.

[FoxNews] U.S. Indo-Pacific Command says 3 defense contractors also involved in fatal crash

A U.S. military service member and three defense contractors died Thursday in the Philippines after their surveillance flight crashed, officials say.

U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said the aircraft contracted by the Department of Defense went down in the southern province of Maguindanao del Sur

…in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Moslem Mindanao. Between resentful remnants of the the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF — get your snickers out, dear Reader, then we’ll go on) and ISIS-linked Daulah Islamiyah, successor to the infamous Maute Group, the region remains a hotbed of Islamic militancy…

"The incident occurred during a routine mission in support of U.S.-Philippine security cooperation activities," U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement to Fox News.

"We can confirm no survivors of the crash. There were four personnel on board, including one U.S. military service member and three defense contractors," it added.

The aircraft involved in the crash was a U.S. Marine Corps Beechcraft King Air 350, a senior U.S. defense official told Fox News.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation. The names of those involved are being withheld pending next of kin notification.

Windy Beaty, a provincial disaster-mitigation officer, told the Associated Press that she received reports that residents saw smoke coming from the plane and heard an explosion before the aircraft plummeted to the ground about half a mile from a cluster of farmhouses.

A water buffalo on the ground was also killed as a result of the plane crash, local officials said.

U.S. forces have been deployed in a Philippine military camp in the country's south for decades to help provide advice and training to Filipino forces battling Muslim militants, the AP reported.

The region is the homeland of minority Muslims in the largely Roman Catholic nation.

Link

Southeast Asia

Marcos condemns ‘cowardly ambush' of Philippine troops

2024-03-30

18.March 2024
[BenarNews] President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday promised swift justice for four soldiers killed by Filipino Islamic State

...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
~~bandidos~~ Lions of Islam in the southern Philippines over the weekend. The military said suspected members of Daulah Islamiyah, a hard boy group, waylaid troops from the 3rd Cavalry of the 40th Infantry Battalion on Sunday in Maguindanao del Sur province, a hotbed of Islamic militancy. The troops were returning to base after distributing supplies to villagers near the town of Datu Hoffer.

"We strongly condemn the cowardly ambush that targeted four of our courageous soldiers in Maguindanao del Sur on March 17," Marcos said in a statement. "The despicable act only strengthens our resolve to eradicate terrorism from the region and our entire nation."

Marcos said his administration remained "resolute in our pledge to ensure that justice is swiftly served" for the fallen troops. He said he has instructed the military to quickly release financial assistance to the families of the fallen soldiers.

Reports reaching Marcos’ office said the troops had left a remote village where they had distributed food for residents in observance of Iftar, the breaking of the daily fast that Moslems observe during Ramadan.

Leaders of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Moslem Mindanao, which includes Maguindanao del Sur, did not comment on the attack as they had not seen a report about it, according to military officials.

The autonomous region is home to a fragile peace between Manila and former Moro Islamic Liberation Front separatist guerrillas, who administer BARMM. The region has struggled with violence since its birth in 2019.

On Monday, Armed Forces of the Philippines chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. extended his condolences to the families of the four "brave" soldiers who were killed. He said they were ambushed by at least 10 gunnies.

"The AFP vows to hunt down the perpetrators and neutralize these ruthless killers to finally put a stop to their ~~violent~~ mostly peaceful acts that disrupt peace and stability in the region," Brawner said, referring to the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Brawner said the military efforts would focus on members of Daulah Islamiyah, which literally translates to the "Islamic State." It includes fighters from several Filipino hard boy factions, including the Maute Group, which had provided men and logistics during a five-month siege of Marawi city by pro-IS fighters in 2017.

That siege, considered by security analysts as the biggest attack by the Islamic State in the region, was meant to take Marawi by force to make it the base in the region. Southeast Asian and Middle Eastern fighters attacked Marawi, leading to a five-month battle that killed at least 1,200 hard boys, military, police and civilians.

Sunday’s attack came a little more than two months after two army intelligence operatives were killed in an ambush while gathering information against suspects linked to a bombing during a Catholic Mass in Marawi city in December 2023 that left four dead.

Link

Southeast Asia

Philippines: Blast at Catholic Mass kills several

2023-12-03

The first report. No doubt more information will come soon.

[DW] An explosion during a Catholic Mass in Marawi city killed three people and left nine injured. Authorities believe it could be the work of turbans affiliated with the "Islamic State

There are a bunch of ISIS-linked groups in the Philippines, some of them no more than a family and its retainers.

An explosion at a Catholic Mass in a university gymnasium in Marawi city in the Philippines killed three and injured nine people on Sunday.

The explosion occurred at Mindanao State University in the Lanao del Sur province in the southern part of the country, the regional police director, Brigadier General Allan Nobleza, told news hounds. He added that investigations were still underway, and it was possible that the attack was planned by pro-Islamic State bully boys.

Classes were suspended and more forces were deployed across the university.

Marawi is the country's largest Moslem city and was besieged by Islamist turbans in for five months in 2017.

The Philippine military said on Saturday they had killed 11 bully boys, including members of the Dawlah Islamiyah-Philippines, a pro-Islamic State group, in a military operation the day before in Maguindanao del Sur province.

Link

Southeast Asia

Philippine military denies killing Moro Islamic Liberation Front members in weekend clash

2023-06-22

[BenarNews] The Philippine military defended itself Wednesday against allegations that it killed members of a former Moslem guerrilla group, which had signed a peace deal with Manila in 2014, during a weekend shootout in the south.

Philippine officials say the seven people slain during the clash with government forces in Maguindanao on Sunday were members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters
...a MILF splinter group aligned with the Islamic State...
(BIFF), a pro-Islamic State

Link

Southeast Asia

5 suspected IS-linked militants killed in govt assault in southern Philippines

2023-03-28

[BenarNews] Five suspected Filipino Death Eaters with the local the Islamic State

One was named Mohammed and the other Mahamoud.

Citing information from the informants, Almorato said DI members apparently were planning to detonate the IEDs at populated areas in Maguindanao and Cotabato provinces at the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan last Wednesday.

Materials used in the manufacture of IEDs, a .45-caliber pistol and Garand rifle ammunition were found at the lair, Almorato said.

The DI group is composed mostly of Death Eaters belonging to a faction from the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters
...a MILF splinter group aligned with the Islamic State...
, a splinter group from the ex-separatist force Moro Islamic Liberation Front,

(MILF), so go ahead and snicker...

which controls an autonomous region in the south.

Link

Southeast Asia

1 soldier killed, another wounded in violence in southern Philippines

2023-03-23

And so Ramadan begins.

[BenarNews] Violence marred the eve of the Moslem holy month of Ramadan in the southern Philippines after suspects from a pro-Islamic State

Link

Southeast Asia

Philippine military blames IS-linked group for deadly bus bombing in south

2022-11-08

[BenarNews] The Philippine military on Monday blamed the Filipino unit of the Islamic State

...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
murderous Moslem group for the bombing of a passenger bus that left one person dead and injured 11 others at the weekend in the volatile south.

The vehicle from the Yellow Bus Line, with 29 passengers aboard, was approaching Tacurong City in Sultan Kudarat province when the home-made bomb went off at noon on Sunday, regional military commander Maj. Gen. Roy Galido said.

"This is a cowardly act of the terrorist group and peace spoilers that put the lives of innocent civilians in danger and doing so is a violation of both human rights
...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions...
and international humanitarian law," Galido said.

"In this regard, we are working with the police Sherlocks and ready to assist them in law enforcement operations to neutralize these terrorists."

Philippine National Police spokeswoman Col. Jean Fajardo said the likely motive was extortion. She noted that the same bus line was attacked in a May bombing that maimed two passengers.

"Before the bombing incident, the management of the Yellow Bus received a call. Apparently they are extorting money from the bus company," she told news hounds in Manila.

Galido identified the suspects as members of the southern-based group Daulah Islamiyah, the Filipino term for Islamic State.

It consists of fighters from several Filipino murderous Moslem factions, including the Maute Group, which had provided men for the siege of Marawi City by pro-IS snuffies in 2017 that left more than 1,200 people, mostly combatants, dead.

The military said the latest bombing could also be a diversionary tactic by the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters
...a MILF splinter group aligned with the Islamic State...
(BIFF), another pro-IS group, to ease military pressure against them. Many of BIFF’s fighters often operate with other groups, such as Daulah Islamiyah.

Suspected members of a BIFF unit have been on the run from military personnel since Saturday, when government troops killed two snuffies during an operation in Shariff Aguak, a town in Maguindanao province. The military launched the offensive in retaliation for a murderous Moslem attack that killed one soldier as soldiers manned a bridge in the area on Friday.

Rommel Banlaoi, a counter-terrorism analyst at the Philippine Institute for Peace, Violence and Terrorism Research, said BIFF was gearing up for more attacks after its leader, Abu Turaife, allegedly released a new video urging his followers to press on with a jihad in the south.

Turaife is one of the hardcore leaders of BIFF, a splinter group of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which signed a peace deal with Manila in 2014 and now controls a Moslem autonomous area in the south.

"The remaining followers of Turaife have acquired the skill of bomb making from their previous colleagues in the MILF," Banlaoi said.

Link

Southeast Asia

Wanted BIFF militant surrenders in southern Philippines

2022-10-06

[BenarNews] An aide to one of the Philippines’ most wanted bomb-makers, the late hard boy Abdul Basit Usman, has surrendered to authorities in the volatile southern region of Mindanao, officials said Wednesday.

The suspect, identified as Manap Mamaluba, is a member of the Islamic State

...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
-linked Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters
...a MILF splinter group aligned with the Islamic State...
(BIFF) hard boy group and was on the run from authorities for years, according to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

Mamaluba surrendered two weeks ago, but this was only made public after he was subjected to verification and questioning this week, said Nicanor Suarez, front man for the investigation bureau.

BIFF is a splinter of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), a former separatist guerrilla group whose leaders now control an autonomous region in the southern Philippines. The surrender occurred in the area formally known as the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Moslem Mindanao (BAARM), according to a statement from the bureau.

"The surrender of Mamaluba was made possible through his uncle, a certain Commander Tiger of the MILF," Suarez said. "Currently, the subject is under the custody of the Municipality of Datu Abdullah Sangki."

The exact identity of Commander Tiger was not revealed, although he is believed to be one of the field commanders of the MILF in the southern province of Maguindanao, intelligence officials said.

Officials did not release more details about Mamaluba.

His boss, Usman, was a top hard boy who had made it onto the U.S. State Department’s list of wanted terrorists. Security experts say Usman had trained many Lions of Islam in bomb making, including those affiliated with Jemaah Islamiyah.

JI, an Indonesia-based hard boy group and the Southeast Asian affiliate of al-Qaeda, was blamed for the October 2002 Bali bombings - that country’s deadliest terror attack to date.

In January 2015, Usman escaped a raid by the police Special Action Force (SAF) in the town of Mamasapano in Mindanao that resulted in the death of Zulkifli bin Hir (alias Marwan), a Malaysian terror suspect who was hiding in the southern Philippines.

Forty-four SAF commandos were killed during the botched operation. They became caught in a deadly firefight with members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front who thought they had come under attack.

The Philippine military killed Usman three months later.

The BIFF, the splinter faction, has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State bad boy group, and many of its members are separately wanted for other crimes, including kidnapping for ransom and extortion.

Col. Abdulrasad Sirajan, the military’s regional front man, told BenarNews that their crackdown against Mamaluba’s colleagues was continuing but government forces remained open to those who were willing to surrender.

"Our operation is going on without rest, but on the other hand, we welcome those who want to live a normal life," he said, adding that about 360 BIFF fighters had surrendered since last year in Maguindanao.

In January 2021, BIFF Lions of Islam carried out two roadside kaboomings that killed three people and injured dozens more in the south.

In 2017, hundreds of pro-IS fighters from Southeast Asia, the Middle East and elsewhere took over the southern Philippine city of Marawi for five months. Some 1,200 people were killed in a battle that ensued between the Lions of Islam and government forces.

While BIFF did not send guerrillas to join that battle, it launched diversionary attacks at the time, according to officials.

Link

Southeast Asia

Philippine police hunt for 6 IS-linked militants in officers’ killings

2022-09-03

[BenarNews] Six members of a holy warrior group linked to Islamic State

...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
hard boyz were responsible for killing a police chief and his aide during a roadside ambush in the southern Philippines earlier this week, and a manhunt is under way, officials said Friday.

National police chief Rodolfo Azurin Jr. told news hounds he had directed officers to coordinate with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the country’s former largest separatist group that controls a Moslem autonomous region in the south, to catch the suspects in the attack in Maguindanao province.

The suspects are believed to be former MILF guerrillas who joined the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters
...a MILF splinter group aligned with the Islamic State...
(BIFF), a splinter group that has rejected the regional grinding of the peace processor with the government and is allied with a Philippine faction of the Islamic State (IS) group.

"Our hot pursuit operation is ongoing. As far as the identification of the suspects, they are BIFF. I have directed our men to file the case against these perpetrators," Azurin said without identifying each individual.

The suspects were blamed for killing police Lt. Col. Reynaldo Samson and his aide, Cpl. Salipudin Endab, outside of Ampatuan town on Tuesday. Three other coppers were maimed in the ambush and ensuing firefight.

Samson was the local chief of police.

The officers were on their way to arrest a narco identified as Abdulnasser Guianid, who was believed to have close ties with holy warrior organizations, police said.

The six suspects involved in the ambush also have existing arrest warrants, Azurin said.

"Right now, we are still waiting for the response of the MILF who have to show sincerity because we have signed the peace pact," Azurin said.

As part of a pact agreed to under a peace deal struck between Manila and the MILF in 2014, officers can enter the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Moslem Mindanao (BARMM), which the Moro Islamic Liberation Front controls.

"They should help the (national) government, which has already accommodated them. This time, we need reciprocity from them. So surrendering these people is part of that reciprocity that we are expecting," he said.

Senior MILF member Mohagher Iqbal, who served as the former rebel group’s chief peace negotiator, said the suspects are not members of the MILF, but of the splinter group.

"Rest assured, our men on the ground will assist authorities in hunting down the suspects behind the ambush," he told BenarNews.

Abdulraof Macacua, another senior MILF member, said its forces were directed to cooperate with police and the military if troops are dispatched to MILF strongholds to search for the suspects.

In a separate statement, BARMM front man Naguib Sinarimbo denied any MILF involvement in the attack.

"The MILF has nothing to do with it," he said.

Link

Southeast Asia

Gunmen kill police chief, aide in southern Philippine ambush

2022-08-31

[BenarNews] Unidentified gunman killed a local police chief and his aide, and maimed three other coppers during a roadside ambush in the southern Philippines on Tuesday while the officers were on their way to arrest a suspect, authorities said.

No one grabbed credit for the attack, but a separatist hard boy group that swore allegiance to the so-called Islamic State

...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
bully boy group operates in the area around Ampatuan, the town in Maguindanao province where the incident occurred, police said.

The button men opened fire on the marked vehicle of the arresting officers at about 10 a.m. in a village outside of Ampatuan. A shootout ensued that led to the deaths of Lt. Col. Reynaldo Samson, the local police chief, and his aide, Cpl. Salipudin Endab.

"Someone leaked the information about our operation," Brig. Gen. John Gano Guyguyon, the police director in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Moslem Mindanao (BARMM), told news hounds, confirming the killings.

"We condemn to the highest degree this incident and we condole with the families of the victims," he added.

A photo circulating on social media showed a police car riddled with bullets along the road in Kapinpilan village, with one of the two slain officers on the ground.

The police were supposed to serve a warrant against a long-wanted narco, identified as Abdulnasser Guianid, when they were ambushed, Guyguyon said. The maimed police, he said, were out of danger, and a manhunt was under way for Guianid.

Guyguyon said it was well known that hard boy groups such as the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters
...a MILF splinter group aligned with the Islamic State...
(BIFF) operate in the fringes of Maguindanao province. In addition, he said, smaller gangs of former separatist rebels also work in the area, sometimes as guns-for-hire for other groups.

BIFF has been blamed for several attacks, including bombings in public areas. It is a splinter group of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which signed a peace deal with Manila in 2014 and now controls the autonomous Moslem region.

"We have been telling our men to be cautious in their mission because this group is still active. We assure the public that we will not let this pass. We will do everything to keep the peace," Guyguyon said.

The incident on Tuesday occurred in the same town where 58 people, including 32 journalists, were killed by members of an influential clan in 2009. The victims of that attack were accompanying the wife of Esmael Mangudadatu, who had challenged the patriarch of the Ampatuan clan for the top political post in the province.

In December 2019, a court sentenced to life imprisonment 28 members of Ampatuan clam after more than a decade of trial.

In predominantly Moslem areas of Mindanao island, it is not unusual for families to settle differences through clan wars known as "rido." Hostilities could last for decades until a peace pact is signed, usually through mediation by religious leaders along with a cash payment.

Political rivalries, ancestral land claims, disputes over local fiefdoms as well as election-related feuds often spur clan wars in Mindanao.

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