The Fallen Soldiers "SAF44"

The Special Action Force is the National Mobile Unit of the Philippine National Police. It is formed along the lines of the British Army (SAS) Special Air Service, but with different recruitment and selection procedures. The SAF, over the years, has received training from the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) and Critical Incident Response Group, RAID and YAMAM. The Anti-Terrorist Unit (ATU) of the PNP-SAF is responsible for nationwide Police Counter-terrorism (CT) operations nationwide. Members or Police trainees who undergo SAF training undergo several special military combat related training such as Basic Airborne Course training, Urban Counter Revolutionary Warfare (SURESHOCK), SCUBA-BUS ROC (Basic Under-Water Search and Rescue Operations Course) and Internal Security (COMMANDO course).  SAF members who are distributed either regionally or within Metro Manila are furthermore assigned to SWAT units or SWAT training units. SAF operators are trained at their camp at Fort Sto. Domingo with its Air Unit stationed at the PNP Hangar in Pasay City.

On Sunday, January 25, 2015, three platoons of the elite SAF police squad entered the guerrilla enclave of Tukanalipao, Mindanao, Philippines, with the goal of detaining high-ranking, Jemaah Islamiyah-affiliated, improvised-explosive-device experts Zulkifli Abdhir and Basit Usman. The SAF troops raided the hut where they believed Marwan was located, and the man they believe to be Marwan engaged them in a firefight and was killed. The SAF initially planned to take his body for identification. However, the shooting alerted the BIFF and MILF militants in the area. The SAF had no time to retrieve the body so they just cut off a finger, took a photo, and left his body there. What followed was a bloody encounter which left 44 SAF and 19 MILF dead.

A MILF spokesman accused the SAF squads of initiating the firefight, claiming that the rebels acted in self-defense, and proposed the continuation of the peace process. Abu Misri Mama, BIFF spokesman said that his rebel group's relationship with the MILF's 105th Command headed by Ustadz Zacaria Guma is positive. "We're all family" Mama commenting on BIFF's relationship with Guma's unit. Mama said that there is no distinction between BIFF members and members of Guma's unit and claims that all of them are either relatives or friends of each other. It was reported that Guma's unit would engage other MILF units over disputes such as clan feuds. It was also reported that Guma is not on good terms with other MILF units which Guma views as “Munafiq,” or hypocrites. A ranking military intelligence officer who spoke on condition of anonymity said that BIFF leader Ameril Umbra Kato ordered the killing of the SAF members by his group and members of the MILF involved in the incident. The official also quoted Kato as saying “Leave no one alive and take all their firearms, ammunition and personal belongings.” A colonel from the Philippine Army, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed the information and said that SAF personnel who were still alive but wounded were shot dead by some BIFF members. A private armed group led by Datu Bahnarin Ampatuan was reportedly was among those involved in the killings of the SAF members. Bahnarin Ampatuan, who is also implicated in the Maguindanao massacre case, is the brother of Mamasapano mayor Benzar Ampatuan. Bahnarin and Benzar Amputuan were rivals at the 2010 Mayoral elections. Benzar expressed doubt of his brother's participation and believes that Bahnarin would not associate himself with such groups like the BIFF nor to people like Basit Usman himself made an attempt to kill Benzar's grandfather.
SOURCE: wikipedia

Post by Filipino's Patriotism.

this video was uploaded by original uploader last Jan. 30 2015, maybe, this was a part of Maguindanao Massacre

Saudi Arabia ‘seeking Pakistani arms for Syrian rebels’



DUBAI: Saudi Arabia is in talks with Pakistan to provide anti-aircraft and anti-tank rockets to Syrian rebels to try to tip the balance in the war to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad, a Saudi source said Sunday.

The United States has long opposed arming the rebels with such weapons, fearing they might end up in the hands of extremists, but Syrian opposition figures say the failure of Geneva peace talks seems to have led Washington to soften its opposition.

Pakistan makes its own version of Chinese shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles, known as Anza, and anti-tank rockets -- both of which Riyadh is trying to get for the rebels, said the source, who is close to Saudi decision-makers, requesting anonymity.

The source pointed to a visit to Riyadh earlier this month by Pakistan's army chief of staff, General Raheel Sharif, who met Crown Prince Salman bin Abdul Aziz.

Prince Salman himself last week led a large delegation to Pakistan, shortly after Saudi's chief diplomat Prince Saud al-Faisal visited the kingdom's key ally.

Jordan will be providing facilities to store the weapons before they are delivered to rebels within Syria, the same source said.

AFP could not obtain confirmation from officials in Saudi, Pakistan or Jordan.
The head of the Syrian opposition, Ahmad Jarba, promised during a flying visit to northern Syria last week that "powerful arms will be arriving soon."
"The United States could allow their allies provide the rebels with anti-aircraft and anti-tank weapons following the failure of Geneva talks and the renewed tension with Russia," said the head of the Gulf Research Centre, Abdel Aziz al-Sager.
Providing those weapons to the rebels "relieves pressure on the US in the short-term," said Simon Henderson, director of the Gulf and Energy Policy Programme at the Washington Institue for Near East Policy.
"But the long-term political worry is that Manpads (Man-portable air-defence systems) will leak and be used to bring down a civilian airliner somewhere in the world."
Rebels have long said that anti-aircraft rockets would help them defend themselves against Syrian warplanes, which regularly bomb rebel-held areas with barrels loaded with TNT and other ordinance.
The nearly-three-year conflict in Syria has torn the country apart, killing more than 140,000 people, including some 50,000 civilians, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Rising Saudi influence
Saudi Arabia has a strong influence on Syria's southern front, where it coordinates with Jordan, and has helped unite the rebel fighters in the area, according to Syrian opposition sources.
On the other hand, Qatar and Turkey are responsible for coordinating with the rebels on the northern front, said an official of the Syrian opposition, requesting anonymity.
Saudi Arabia has come to eclipse Qatar as the main supporter of the Syrian rebels, a development illustrated by the election last July of Ahmad Jarba, who has strong Saudi links, to lead the Syrian National Coalition, the main umbrella opposition group.

The trend appeared to continue with the dismissal last week of General Selim Idriss, the top commander of the Western-backed Free Syrian Army, who was considered close to Qatar, according to an opposition source.
The main criticism of Idriss was "bad distribution of weapons" and "errors in battle," said another opposition source.
Idriss, who has refused his dismissal, has been replaced by Brigadier General Abdel Ilah al-Bashir, the leader of the rebel military council for the region of Quneitra in southern Syria.
On its internal front, Saudi Arabia has sidelined intelligence chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan, who had been leading Riyadh's efforts concerning Syria, according to a Western diplomat.
Diplomats have said that the file has been passed to the interior minister, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, known for his successful crackdown on Al-Qaeda following a wave of deadly attacks in the kingdom between 2003 and 2006.
Bandar's management had triggered American criticism, diplomats said.
The Saudi royal himself has reproached Washington for its decision not to intervene militarily in Syria, and for preventing its allies from providing rebels with much-needed weapons, diplomats added.