MANILA, Philippines—Three soldiers were killed in an ambush by heavily armed men Wednesday night in Marawi City, the military said.
Troops from the 65th Infantry Battalion led by Lieutenant Colonel Siegred Espina was aboard KM 450 truck conducting security patrol when they were fired upon by unidentified gunmen in the Mindanao State University campus at around 9 p.m., said Captain Alberto Caber, spokesman of the Army’s First Infantry Division.
Three soldiers were killed while 10 others were wounded in the attack. The wounded personnel were promptly brought to a local hospital for treatment.
Colonel Daniel Lucero, the Commander of the 103rd Infantry Brigade, has launched pursuit operations to hunt down the perpetrators of the crime.
Government authorities are looking into possibilities that the attack was in retaliation for the unit’s anti-illegal logging operations. The unit is also actively involved in anti-illegal drug campaign in coordination with the PDEA and the local police, said Caber.
Meanwhile, the 9th Infantry Division has started processing the financial benefits due to the families of the slain soldiers, said Army spokesman Major Harold Cabunoc.
The 65th Infantry Battalion is a unit from the 9th Infantry Division that was augmented to the troops of the 103rd Infantry Brigade in keeping the peace in Lanao del Sur.