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Bullet holes found in US helicopter in the Philippines

A US helicopter on a humanitarian mission in the Philippines was apparently shot at, prompting the Navy to temporarily halt the mission, a defense official said.

An MH-60 helicopter operating from the USNS Mercy hospital ship had gone to pick up 11 passengers about 80km inland, and two bullet holes were found when the aircraft returned to the ship with the passengers.

“The holes appear to be an entry and exit point from a single bullet,” Commander Jeff Davis, a Navy spokesman, said on Monday.

It was unclear if the bullet struck while the passengers were on the helicopter, he said. There were no injuries and the aircraft’s commander was unaware of any bullet striking the aircraft during the flight, Davis said.

The Mercy is anchored in Cotabato, conducting Pacific Partnership 08, a humanitarian civic assistance mission between nations — and with non-governmental organizations — to provide medical, dental, construction and other services ashore and afloat.

“The USNS Mercy mission commander has ceased all Mercy Pacific Partnership activities until a proper assessment can be made,” Davis said in an e-mail.

Nobody has claimed responsibility for the attack, but several armed groups operate in the area, including private armies and criminal gangs.

Eid Kabalu, spokesman for the MILF, the Philippines’ largest Muslim rebel group, condemned the attack.

“This is a humanitarian mission so we are fully supportive of it,” Kabalu said. “Anything to hamper humanitarian action is condemnable.”
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