Posted on 06/17/2002 1:05:13 AM PDT by HAL9000
(First of two parts)ZAMBOANGA CITY--When the Scout Rangers finally caught up with the Abu Sayyaf bandits guarding hostages Martin and Gracia Burnham and Edibora Yap, the soldiers opened fire even without a "visual" of the hostages, the Inquirer learned over the weekend.
But the "disoriented" bandits returned fire "indiscriminately" with automatic weapons and M203s, the company commander in charge of the operation said.
"I'm convinced it was not us who killed them," said 1st Lt. Oliver Almonares, who gave the order to the 15th Scout Ranger Company to engage the bandits on the fateful afternoon of June 7.
In separate interviews, Almonares, Sgt. Rodney Magbanua and Cpl. Rodelio Tuazon recounted what happened during the encounter that left Martin Burnham and Yap dead and Gracia and nine government troops wounded:
As early as 6 a.m. that day, the Scout Rangers had already picked up the tracks of the Abu Sayyaf group in the thick jungles of Sibuco town, courtesy of a tip given by a local logger.
The Rangers estimated that the Abu Sayyaf was moving about an hour ahead of them. The pursuit went on until the early afternoon.
Between 1:30 and 3 p.m., the Rangers finally spotted the bandits--they were resting beside a creek that was then running almost knee-deep because of the day's heavy downpour. Four tents built along the creek helped give away the bandits' position.
The Rangers occupied higher ground, 15 to 20 meters above the creek. But the downward slope was very steep--"almost at 80 degrees," Almonares said.
"We would already slip and roll down the slope if we had continued advancing," he added.
Huge boulders and thick foliage on the slope limited their view of the bandits. Of the 15th SR's five seven-member teams, only three could actually see the enemy. The three teams were on somewhat lower ground, with fewer obstructions. (Not surprisingly, all the wounded troopers--six Rangers, two snipers, one Cafgu militiaman--belonged to the three teams, Almonares said.)
After he realized that his men could no longer go closer without being detected, Almonares said he ordered them to commence firing.
When the Rangers fired the first shots, they still had not sighted the hostages. In fact, they were not sure whether the bandits were actually the ones holding the hostages, since all they initially saw were the four tents and four or five bandits standing guard.
They also did not know at the time whether bandit leader Abu Sabaya was with the group
The Rangers thus confined their attack to "single fire" or non-automatic shots. "While we had no visual of the hostages, there was an assumption that they were with this group," Almonares said.
First to be killed were two bandits nearest the most forward Ranger teams, who had inched their way undetected to about "5 meters" from the target.
The "disoriented" bandits then returned fire "indiscriminately" with automatic weapons and M-203s. Almonares said the heavy fog and rain contributed to the bandits' confusion.
It was only at this point, after the initial exchange of gunfire, that the Rangers realized that the "majority" of the bandits were massed behind the cluster of men they had first seen. Sabaya, it turned out later, was in this group. The hostages were therefore positioned between the two groups of bandits. Almonares said he believed that the four Abu Sayyaf casualties were part of the smaller group, which was nearer the Rangers.
The Rangers only saw the hostages, particularly the Burnhams because of their color, "15 minutes" after the firefight began--or midway through the 30-minute battle. (Almonares could not say whether Martin was still alive when he was sighted by his men.)
After spotting the Burnhams, Almonares said he ordered his men to "secure the hostages and continue the assault."
On hindsight, Almonares surmised that the bandits mistakenly expected government troops to come from the side of the creek that was guarded by Sabaya's bigger group.
Almonares described what his men saw after the bandits had retreated and left the hostages along the muddy creek.
Gracia lay by the creek, face up, with a bullet wound in the right leg. Martin lay face down, partly covering her body, and his head, Almonares said, was pointing "toward us" or the side of the creek occupied by the Rangers.
He took particular note of the fact that Martin's back was bloodied, indicating that he had been shot from behind.
The Rangers found Yap about 10 meters from the Burnhams, lying face down in the creek, with her guts spilling out.
"Your guts don't just spill out because of bullet wounds," Almonares said, suggesting that Yap might have been hacked or stabbed.
In all, Almonares' unit was composed of 35 Rangers, four snipers and one Cafgu militiaman. They easily outnumbered the bandits.
The military's post-operation account placed the number of bandits in that encounter at 14, minus the four who were killed.
Almonares said due credit must be given to his men for actions they took even before any shot was fired: That is, for their excellent tracking skills.
"It's not true that we employed K9s to locate the enemy," he said, alluding to earlier news reports that bloodhounds were used to get them closer to the encounter site.
He said a Marine contingent also scouring the jungle at the time was the one that used bloodhounds. "The only K9 we had with us was our lead scout, Pfc. Tamayo," the officer added in jest.
It was through Tamayo's expertise in "visual tracking" that the Rangers were able to make out the trail left--and sometimes deliberately concealed--by the Abu Sayyaf.
According to Magbanua and Tuazon, the "clues" to the bandits' movements included footprints, just-chewed coconut meat and unripe langka (jackfruit)--an indication that the Abu Sayyaf was running out of food.
The bandits also apparently ate uncooked leaves along the way, including an edible variety of fern, a patch of which was freshly cut when encountered by the Rangers.
Fruit bearing trees that marked the way had mud smeared on their trunks, indicating that someone had just climbed up.
But perhaps the most telling--and now inadvertently comic--hint that the Rangers were hot on the heels of cash-rich kidnappers were three items they picked up on the edge of a river in the middle of the jungle.
"Two briefs and an unused toothbrush that was still in its case," recalled Tuazon.
"We thought that the briefs belonged to Abu Sayyaf because they were expensive brands, Penshoppe and Playboy. Ordinary woodcutters could not afford those," he added.
©2002 www.inq7.net all rights reserved
Yes,they will. All it takes is a "grazing" shot from the side. It will cut you open like a sharp knife.
Stay well - stay safe - Stay armed - Yorktown
The way to halt them is to NEVER pay, and keep them on the run 24/7/365 with rotating teams of motivated trackers. When they are on the run for their lives, they can't even think of kidnapping. They are more worried about finding a safe place to get 4 hours sleep and cook a meal without being seen by a FLIR equipped Predator.
Stay well - Stay safe - Stay armed - Yorktown
I agree.
Sounds like the "Rangers" opened fire prematurely - you could hardly call this an "attack".
They were not in attack position.
They were not in ambush position.
They did not have all the enemy in view, and did not have all their own forces positioned to bring fire on the enemy.
The story, as reported makes it sound like a botched operation - with the bulk of enemy escaping and hostages killed/wounded. It also sounds like the "attacking" Rangers took more casualties than they inflicted..... A horrible scenario! Troops or Officers were either undisciplined or immature - or both!
No explanation of why - once located - the enemy could not have been followed and observed, at least long enough to have gotten ahead and set up a proper fire fight scenario.
Been there, Done that - the report makes this sound like a screwed up operation.
Semper Fi
Anyway, it looks like the firefight started before they meant it to, and once committed, they just kept going.
I wish it were then a whole lot of the leading actors would not be listed on that black granite wall.
Stay well - Stay safe - Stay armed - Yorktown
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