Two U.S. Sailors, Filipino Marine Are Killed by Landmine

By CARLOS H. CONDE and MARK McDONALD
The New York Times
Published: September 29, 2009

MANILA — Two American sailors and a Filipino marine were killed Tuesday when their vehicle struck a landmine on the troubled southern island of Jolo, the Philippine military said.

Two Filipino marines also were injured in the blast, according to the army spokesman, Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner. The explosion occurred near the town of Indanan, the scene of recent fighting between government forces and Islamist militants.

Colonel Brawner said the American troops were Navy Seabees who were not in a combat role but were helping supervise a school-building project on the island.

“They lost their lives serving others, and we will always be grateful for their contributions to improve the quality of life on Jolo,” the U.S. ambassador, Kristie Kenny, said in a statement Tuesday afternoon. The names of the dead sailors were not immediately released.

The U.S. fatalities were the first in the Philippines since 2002, when an American soldier was killed in a bombing in Zamboanga City. It was in 2002 that Washington began sending elite counterinsurgency troops to Mindanao, the main region in the southern Philippines, to assist the Philippines military in its fight against the Islamist terrorist group Abu Sayyaf.

The group is likely to be the primary focus of suspicion in the incident Tuesday, although Colonel Brawner said, “We’re still investigating to determine who was behind the explosion.”

Sulu, the southern archipelago province that includes the island of Jolo, is known to be a stronghold of Abu Sayyaf; the Islamic separatist movement led by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front; and the Southeast Asian terror network Jemaah Islamiyah, which has reportedly trained Abu Sayyaf fighters in bombmaking.

Under the Visiting Forces Agreement between Manila and Washington, U.S. soldiers are prohibited from engaging in combat. Government critics and nationalists, however, contend that providing intelligence support — such as launching drones for surveillance — is tantamount to combat.

The presence of American forces in the country has long been a hot political issue — about 600 U.S. troops are currently stationed here — and some Filipino senators have recently urged President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to abrogate the agreement. The deaths of the American soldiers seemed certain to inflame the controversy over the agreement.

Manila and Washington have denied that American troops are deployed to directly target Abu Sayyaf, and U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said last month that the American counterinsurgency trainers, known as the Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines, would remain in the Philippines.

Indanan has been tense in recent days. Battles between Abu Sayyaf and government forces have escalated there since the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. When the military raided a large Abu Sayyaf camp in Indanan Sept. 19, 17 suspected terrorists and 23 soldiers were killed.

Military officials said they were expecting violent reprisals from the insurgents, according to the news group SunStar, which quoted two senior army officers, Maj. Gen. Benjamin Mohammad Dolorfino and Lieut. Col. Gamal Hayudini.

The officers said military intelligence believed 220 militants had gathered in Indanan in recent days under three high-profile rebel leaders — Albader Parad, Isnilon Hapilon, who uses the nom de guerre The Deputy, and Umbra Jumdail, known locally as Dr. Abu.

The U.S. State Department has offered a reward of up to $5 million for information about Mr. Hapilon’s whereabouts. He has been indicted in Washington for his alleged involvement in terrorist acts, notably the kidnapping of 20 people in 2001 from the Dos Palmas resort on Palawan Island. Three Americans, including a husband-and-wife missionary couple, were among those kidnapped, and two of them were killed.

Six Filipino marines also were wounded Sept. 20 in a battle with militants in Buanza, a district in Indanan, according to the military. The marine force met heavy fire that required ground reinforcements and air support, Colonel Hayudini said.

The next day, eight soldiers were killed and nine were wounded in an Abu Sayyaf ambush in Bato-Bato, another area of Indanan.

Carlos H. Conde reported from Manila, and Mark McDonald from Hong Kong.