A breathtaking big-picture view of Mamasapano. Rem Zamora/PDI
MAMASAPANO, Philippines — The special Board of Inquiry convened to determine the facts behind the Mamasapano incident of Jan. 25 conducted an ocular inspection on Tuesday of the bloody battlefield. The board and its operational audit team, together with dozens of members of the media, inspected three major sites.
A drone from the Philippine Daily Inquirer, piloted by chief photographer Rem Zamora, flew up three times to record the view from 500 meters: The site where the 41st Special Action Company was positioned; the cornfields where the 55th SAC, the blocking force, fought a daylong battle and lost all but one trooper; and the site where the 84th Seaborne, the assault team, was pinned down after killing Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan, in the early morning.
The encounter claimed the lives of 44 police Special Action Force troopers, 18 Moro Islamic Liberation Front regulars, and at least five civilians. -JN
RELATED STORIES
Mamasapano clash: What happened according to the military