Police ‘misencounter’ kills 4 army agents
MANILA: Four Philippine Army intelligence agents, led by a major who were tracking down leaders and bomb experts of the Daesh-linked Abu Sayyaf terror group, were slain in an alleged “misencounter” with policemen on the island province of Sulu in Mindanao, authorities confirmed on Tuesday.
But due to their sharply conflicting versions, police and military authorities agreed to ask the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to conduct an “impartial” inquiry to determine those guilty on the “shootout” that occurred on Monday aternoon in the capital town of Jolo, Sulu on Monday aternoon.
A “spot” police report claimed members of the Jolo police and anti-drug agents were on operation in a “barangay” (village) in Jolo when they spoted a talks,” Baradar told Pompeo, blaming the hold-up on the delayed release of Taliban prisoners, according to Shaheen.
The US peace envoy to Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, will not be going to the Afghan capital, Kabul, while in the region on his latest peace mission because of the dangers presented by the coronavirus and instead will video conference with Afghan leaders, the US State Department said. vehicle carrying four “armed” men. Police said they ordered the men to proceed to the police station for verification and questioning. But upon arriving at the station, police said the four men sped away, resulting in a chase until they cornered the suspects in downtown Jolo.
Police claimed the suspects alighted from their vehicle and threatened to shoot them, forcing the lawmen to draw their guns and fire at them, killing them on the spot.
But the police version was denied by a visibly “irate” Lieutenant General Gilbert Gapay, the Philippine Army chief, who said the four intelligence agents assigned to the 11th Infantry Division in Sulu did not provoke the police into taking a violent action
Khalilzad,whowasintheuzbekcapital,tashkent, on Tuesday, will be travelling to Pakistan later in the day or early Wednesday. against them. “Based on eyewitness accounts, no altercation transpirted between the two parties, nor was there a provocation and put the Army personnel to provoke such carnage. Furthermore, no agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Authority were involved since it was not an anti-drug operation,” Gapay said in a statement.
The slain officers were identified as Major Marvin Indamag, the chief of the intelligence unit of the 11th Infantry Division and a member of Class 2006 of the state-run Philippine Military Academy, Captain Irwin Managuelod as well as a sergeant and a corporal.
Major General Corleto Vinluan, the division commander, supported Gapay in a separate
Afghanistan’s dilapidated health system is grappling with the pandemic, with the number of infections thought to far outnumber the official tally of over 31,000 cases, including 733 deaths.
The Taliban have denied responsibility for the explosions, which also wounded 15 civilians, and accused the Afghan army of firing the mortars. statement, saying the four slain soldiers were on “official” mission particularly to identify and track down Abu Sayyaf terrorist leaders in Sulu where they operate with impunity.
Vinluan also insisted his men were “unarmed” as he told CNN Philippines in a text message: “They were gunnned down by the PNP (Philippine National Police).”
Lieutenant General Cirilito Sobejana, the chief of the military’s Western Mindanao Command, put a sobering tone of the issue in asking the NBI for an impartial investigation, saying: “We don’t want an escalation of hostilities over the incident. Our main aim is to know the fact and that justice is given.