Thirty US Special Forces members arrived in attack helicopters on the war-torn southern island of Basilan yesterday to train Filipino soldiers fighting Muslim extremists who hold two American hostages.
The arrival of the soldiers, who descended in a cloud of dust whirled up by rotor wind so fierce it ripped tops off three coconut trees, started a dangerous phase to the US mission to help the Philippines battle Abu Sayyaf rebels holding two Americans and a Filipina hostage on Basilan.
The operation opens a new front in the US war on terrorism and marks the second biggest US counter-terrorism deployment, after Afghanistan.
The Special Forces members, an advance team of a contingent to number 160 in coming days, was to deploy shortly to other bases on the island, exposing them to risk of assault or ambush by some of the 80 or so ragged Muslim guerrillas who have vowed stiff opposition.
"We will take all measures to defend ourselves," said US Special Forces Lieutenant Colonel David Maxwell who arrived with his men yesterday at the Tabiawan army base, a jumble of bamboo huts, crowing roosters and grazing goats amid mahogany and coconut trees.
For security, one attack helicopter whirred overhead while the other landed in a helipad area beside a pile of rockets and crates.
Danger to US troops was underscored Saturday when one grenade exploded on the nearby island of Jolo and another in a cinema in Zamboanga city, across a strait from Basilan, killing at least five people and injuring dozens. Officials suspected the Abu Sayyaf but said the blasts won't affect the military exercise.
The Zamboanga blast was about 6km from the Philippine military's Southern Command headquarters, where more than 250 American military support personnel are staying. The US contingent is to grow to 660 in coming weeks.
Besides helping train the Philippine army in night fighting, night flying and psychological operations, Maxwell said his men will learn something too from the poorly equipped soldiers who have been fighting Muslim insurgencies for years.
The counter-terrorism trainers arrived in Zamboanga on Saturday and underwent a cultural sensitivity seminar before deploying to Basilan.
"We were informed of the unique culture here," Maxwell said. "One thing we have learned in the sensitivity seminar is not to publicly show affection. We know we should not extend our hand unless we are offered."
A Philippine militiaman guarding the Tabiawan camp with a World War II-era rifle said the sophisticated Special Forces will boost military strength but said he preferred his simple equipment and experience.
"They have the latest guns with scopes but I love my M-14 [rifle]," he said. "I wonder if those guns can do the work in the mountains."
Philippine Colonel Alexander Aleo, commander of the camp, said some of the US forces will soon deploy to a Philippine Marines base and a Philippine army base in more remote parts of Basilan, near where soldiers have recently clashed with guerrillas.
The jungle-covered mountains of Basilan have been home to American missionary couple Martin and Gracia Burnham of Wichita, Kansas, and Filipino nurse Deborah Yap since they were seized by the Abu Sayyaf in a kidnapping rampage that began last May.
Officials said the Burnhams were last sighted Jan. 27 in the Sampinit mountain area in central Basilan. Only about 80 guerrillas are thought to operate on the island, including around 30 guarding the hostages. About 5,000 Filipino soldiers have been deployed to Basilan since June last year.
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