Members of the Philippine National Police Special Action Forces load bodies of police commandos into vehicles in Maguindanao, Philippines, Monday, Jan. 26, 2015. AP FILE PHOTO
COTABATO CITY, Philippines—A Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) investigator on Thursday maintained that 64 bodies were recovered from the site of a clash between Moro rebels and police commandos in Maguindanao province on Sunday.
The Philippine National Police said only 44 commandos from its Special Action Force (SAF) were killed in the 11-hour gun battle in Tukanalipao village, Mamasapano town, Maguindanao.
The bodies of 42 of the slain policemen were flown to Manila on Thursday morning for the lying in state at SAF headquarters in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City.
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Two buried in Zamboanga
Two bodies—those of PO3 Jedz-in A. Asjali and PO2 Amman M. Esmula—were buried on Wednesday in Zamboanga City in keeping with the Muslim tradition of burying the dead soon after death.
Bruce Antao, a member of the MILF investigative team, told the Inquirer on Monday that 64 bodies were recovered from the clash site late on that day.
On Thursday, Antao clarified that he submitted two separate body counts to the MILF Central Committee: 37 bodies recovered from Sitio Manggapang in Tukanalipao and 27 in Sitio Inunug in Pidsandawan village.
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He said he submitted his report before two more bodies were recovered from Kabulnan River, which cuts across the vast cornfield where the gun battle took place.
Antao said the investigative report may have inadvertently included bodies of civilians in either half or full fatigue uniforms.
He said most of the bodies he had counted were in full or half fatigue uniforms, and for lack of more accurate information they were all labeled slain SAF policemen.
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Civilian informants
Antao explained that civilian informants who accompanied the police raiding teams may have also worn full or half fatigue uniforms, which are common in Moro communities.
He said that a day after the clash, there were reports of the involvement of local police contacts in the raid on Mamasapano.
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“Some described them as Cafgu (Civilian Armed Forces Geographic Unit) members, maybe for lack of a better term,” Antao said.
He said he learned later that the bodies were buried immediately, as they were those of Muslims.
The MILF investigation is going on, Antao said.
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