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Philippine Military Kills 10 of Its Soldiers in Errant Airstrike Philippine Military Kills 10 of Its Soldiers in Errant Airstrike
(about 1 hour later)
MANILA — An airstrike by the Philippine military killed 10 of the country’s own soldiers and injured eight others as the government struggled to take back the southern city of Marawi from insurgents loyal to the Islamic State, officials said on Thursday.MANILA — An airstrike by the Philippine military killed 10 of the country’s own soldiers and injured eight others as the government struggled to take back the southern city of Marawi from insurgents loyal to the Islamic State, officials said on Thursday.
The deaths came more than a week after the military moved to capture an insurgent leader only to be surprised by a heavily armed fighting force of rebels who went on to seize much of the city, holding a Roman Catholic priest and several others hostage. Since then the government has been using airstrikes to try to drive out the rebels. The deaths came more than a week after the military moved to capture an insurgent leader only to be surprised by heavily armed rebels who went on to seize much of the city, holding a Roman Catholic priest and several others hostage. Since then the government has been using airstrikes to try to drive out the rebels.
“A group of our military army men were hit by our own airstrikes,” the defense secretary, Delfin Lorenzana, said in a text message to reporters. “Ten killed and eight wounded.”“A group of our military army men were hit by our own airstrikes,” the defense secretary, Delfin Lorenzana, said in a text message to reporters. “Ten killed and eight wounded.”
“Sometimes the fog of war,” he said in explaining the killings. “The coordination was not properly done so we hit our own people.”“Sometimes the fog of war,” he said in explaining the killings. “The coordination was not properly done so we hit our own people.”
It was unclear when the attack happened, or what type of airstrike was involved. The military has been using a combination of soldiers and helicopters in its effort to dislodge the rebels. Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla told The Associated Press that the plane involved in the attack, a Marchetti S-211 jet, was conducting a bombing run over insurgent positions when one bomb hit soldiers who were engaged in combat with the fighters.
The Marchetti S-211 is a trainer jet that the Philippine Air Force later upgraded to give it attack capability. But the website MaxDefense Philippines said it had a poor serviceability record and funding issues and lacked many of the capabilities of typical attack jets, like radar and internal guns.
The Philippine military previously said that it was conducting “precision airstrikes” on militant positions in an effort to dislodge them. The military has also been using a combination of soldiers and helicopters to try to defeat the rebels.