Army admits error in Basilan attack

ZAMBOANGA CITY—The military on Tuesday confirmed that two civilians were injured when a military helicopter fired at a group of students having a picnic, which the military wrongly suspected to be a group of Abu Sayyaf bandits, in Albarka, Basilan.

Col. Carlito Galvez, head of the Army’s 104th Infantry Brigade, said the gunship was sent to the area in a continuing military offensive against the criminal group, which has links with the international terror network al-Qaeda.

Galvez did not provide additional details except to say that the injuries that the civilians suffered “were not serious.”

“We had them treated,” Galvez said.

The Mindanao Human Rights Action Center (Minhrac), however, said at least four students had been injured. The group said 70 students of a madrasah (Arabic school) in Albarka were having a picnic on the island of Kalang Sibubung around 3 p.m. on Jan. 5 when they were fired upon by a military helicopter.

The military had suspected the island to be a lair of the Abu Sayyaf, which is responsible for a spate of kidnappings and bombings in parts of Mindanao where the crime group maintains a presence.

The Minhrac said the air strike lasted for about 30 minutes, sending the students and others to panic.

The air strike, according to the group, stopped only after Minhrac volunteers stationed in Lamitan City called up the military to inform authorities that civilians were in the area.

The Minhrac said one of those injured was a 12-year-old boy. Another of the injured was an 18-year-old woman. The two other injured were children, too, said Ershad Tawasil, a worker of the Minhrac.

In a statement, the Minhrac said the victims were residents of Cambug in Albarka, Basilan. They were taken to St. Peter Hospital in Lamitan City.

Victim Julia Haron, 18, remained in the hospital while the boy had been discharged, the Minhrac said.

The rights group quoted parents of the students as saying their children had been traumatized by the attack. Julie Alipala, with a report from Allan Nawal, Inquirer Mindanao