Maniolas

WASHINGTON – DNA tests indicate one of the United States’ “most wanted terrorists,” Zulkifli bin Hir, also known as Marwan, was possibly killed in a raid by police in the Philippines last week, the FBI said on Wednesday. The results of the tests conducted by the FBI “do not provide absolute identification,” said David Bowdich, assistant director for the FBI’s Los Angeles field office. Bowdich said a sample of biological matter gathered from the scene of the Jan. 25 raid and analyzed by the FBI resembles bin Hir’s DNA. Further tests are being carried out to fully verify the identity of the sample. The FBI had offered $5 million for the arrest of bin Hir, a Malaysian member of the al Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiah militant group behind numerous bombing attacks in the Philippines. The raid to arrest bin Hir and another militant went awry, and 44 police were killed. The FBI said it had no prior knowledge of the raid. The clash shattered a three-year ceasefire between Philippines police and Muslim rebels in the south of the country. It also dealt a temporary setback to peace talks, Manila’s chief peace negotiator said on Saturday, appealing for renewed efforts to keep the process on track.  — Reuters

The suspended head of the Philippine National Police-Special Action Force apparently took exception to the claims of the Armed Forces that there was inadequate coordination on the part of the police commandos that resulted in the huge number of casualties during the Mamasapano operation.  Director Getulio Napeñas said the PNP-SAF went by the rules that say coordination may be made before or during a mission. He said he would have kept silent until AFP officials made claims that apparently put the police in bad light. He added that the PNP-SAF repeatedly sent the coordinates of the embattled commandos to the military in the area. This was in contrast to the military’s claim that it was ready to assist in the operation but couldn’t do so because it was unaware where the commandos were. “Minabuti ko na hindi muna magsasalita dahil  gusto kong hintayin, bigyan natin ng galang yung board of inquiry pero dahil sa nga statements na lumabas ngayon lang na sinisira na yung puri ng director ng SAF pati na yung SAF, at boung kapulisan, kapag hindi ako magsasalita, magkakaroon ng public opinion,” Napeñas said. “Magse-set  in yan. Para magkaroon lang ng balance at sana amg pinakamaganda ay intayin natin yung resuta ng board of inquiry para sag anon yung ang magpapatunay kung ano ang tunay na nangyari,” he added. He asked the public to give due credit to the police commandos in the operation that netted the death of suspected international terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan. “Nais Read More …

Mar offers sympathy to families of slain SAF men in Baguio. At the Church of the Resurrection in Baguio on Monday, February 2, DILG Secretary Mar Roxas II consoles with Janet Carap, widow of PNP-SAF PO2 Peterson Carap, a Cordillera native and one of the 44 elite police commandos killed in the infamous January 25 Mamasapano clash. Carap asked Roxas to speed up the investigation and resolution to the ongoing probe on the police operation. Dave Leprozo Interior Secretary Mar Roxas said the police Board of Inquiry’s probe on the Mamasapano clash that killed 44 elite police commandos will be “transparent and truthful.” “To show respect to those who lost their loved ones in the incident, we will make sure that the board will be transparent and truthful,” Roxas told 200 Special Action Force (SAF) troopers at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig on Sunday. He also asked Filipinos to give the BOI, which was formed last week, a chance to get to the bottom of what happened in the Maguindanao town. “Like all of you, I am very interested to know the results of the investigation of the Board of Inquiry, for us to know the truth. Let us patiently wait for the report and see the findings of the board,” he said. The BOI tapped Police Deputy Director and Officer-in-Charge Leonardo Espina, Police Director Edgardo Ingking of the Directorate for Integrated Police Operations in Western Mindanao, and Chief Superintendent Catalino Rodrigo of the Directorate for Human Resource and Doctrine Read More …

It’s not only the families of the 44 fallen commandos of the Philippine National Police-Special Action Force who are calling for justice. A pregnant widow of a slain fighter of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front also wants answers and explanations on the Mamasapano clash that led to the death of her husband.  Rakhma Dagadas is the wife of Omar, one of the 18 members of the MILF 105th Base Command killed in the firefight against SAF commandoes on Jan. 25.  “Pareho rin kaming nawalan ng anak o asawa. Kaming lahat na namatayan ng asawa, nasasaktan din. Hindi lang sila, pati kami rin dito,” Dagadas said in a report on 24 Oras on Monday.  Dagadas is five months pregnant with their third child and first son.  “Hindi ko mapigilang umiyak ngayong naiisip ko lahat ng sinasabi nila. Excited siya kasi may anak na siya na lalaki kasi babae ‘yung anak namin na dalawa,” she added.  Othe residents of Barangay Tukanalipao in Mamasapano who lost a kin during the clash are also mourning their loss.  MILF fighter’s story  One of the MILF survivors said that they tried to follow the ceasefire agreement.  It was around 5 a.m. of Jan. 25 when they heard that large tanks were posted near their area. From their houses near the highway, the MILF retreated and tried to cross the wooden bridge to the cornfield to avoid any firefight. But they didn’t know PNP-SAF members were already on the other side of the bridge.  The MILF fighter Read More …