Incident Summary:

02/18/2003: At around 3AM local time, Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels attacked a Philippine Army command post at Upper Salbu village, Shariff Aguak town, Maguindanao, Philippines. The attacked killed five soldiers and wounded three more. MILF claimed responsibility in a telephone call on 02/18/2003 to the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

GTD ID:
200302180004

When:
2003-02-18

Country:
Philippines

Region:
Southeast Asia

Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:

Maguindanao

City:
Salbu

Attack Information
Type of Attack (more) Armed Assault
Successful Attack? (more) Yes
Target Information (more)
Target Type: Military
Name of Entity Philippine Army
Specific Description Philippine Army command post, Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao
Nationality of Target Philippines
Additional Information
Hostages No
Ransom No
Property Damage Unknown
Extent of Property Damage Unknown
Value of Property Damage Unknown
Weapon Information
Type Sub-type
Firearms Unknown Gun Type
Additional Information
Suicide Attack?No
Part of Multiple Incident?Yes
Criterion 1 (more) Yes
Criterion 2 (more) Yes
Criterion 3 (more) Yes
Doubt Terrorism Proper (more) No
Perpetrator Group Information
Group Name Claimed Responsibility
Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Yes (Confirmed: Unknown; Mode: Call (post-incident))
Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators Unknown
Number of Captured Perpetrators 0
Casualty Information
Total Number of Casualties 5 Fatalities / 3 Injured
Total Number of Fatalities 5
Number of U.S. Fatalities 0
Number of Perpetrator Fatalities Unknown
Total Number of Injured 3
Number of U.S. Injured 0
Number of Perpetrators Injured Unknown
Sources
"AFP: Seven Soldiers Killed, 11 Wounded in Philippines Muslim Rebel Ambush," AFP, February 18, 2003.
Jeffrey Tupas, "MILF counterattacks; 16 gov't soldiers dead," Philippine Daily Inquirer, February 19, 2003.
"MILF Keep Up Attacks, Kill 16 Soldiers," The Manila Standard, February 20, 2003.