Philippines:
Military Honors to the eight out of the eleven fallen Philippine Army soldiers that have arrived in Manila yesterday night from the recent ambush of the ISIS linked terror group "Abu Sayyaf", one of the worst losses the AFP had for some time.
The April 17, ambush in Patikul, Sulu by Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) terrorists on elements from the D company, 21st Infantry Battalion is one of the worst losses the AFP had for sometime.
According to info MaxDefense gathered since yesterday, the unit involved was a blocking force in support of Special Operations units doing a follow-up operation after members of the Scout Ranger Regiment encountered the same group yesterday. But the 21st IB(Infantry Battalion) units were ambushed instead while the main units were scouring the jungle for the enemy.
Military sources believe the ASG used intel from villagers living nearby the Army's firebase, providing them advance info of troops coming in. As always, the AFP has not used any modern surveillance equipment prior to the operation, including locating the actual position of the ASG terrorist units.
The firefight appears to be really close, with ASG terrorists hacking injured Army personnel to death, taking uniform/boots, personal possessions, and firearms, resulting to the loss of 6 Remington R4A3 rifles, an R4A3 rifle with an attached M203 40mm grenade launcher, an S&T Motiv K3 squad automatic weapon, and a Harris Falcon encrypted communicatioms radio.
A follow-on operation proceeded involving addition infantry, mechanized and Scout Ranger units supported by mortar units and AW109E armed helicopters from the Philippine Air Force.
