SAF commandos recall 24-hour ordeal

MANILA, Philippines - Two police commandos stood out in the daring covert operations that led to the killing of Malaysian terrorist Zulkilfi bin Hir in Mamasapano, Maguindanao last month.

The police operation, however, came at a steep price – the lives of 44 operatives of the elite Special Action Force (SAF).

The two brave and strong-willed policemen endured probably the worst 24 hours of their lives in the battlefield starting from 2:30 a.m. to past 5 p.m. when they were extricated by government forces.

Just like in the movies, Superintendent Raymond Train and PO2 Christopher Lalan, along with other survivors, narrated to their superiors the daylong gunfight with Muslim rebels.

They are ready to tell their stories before the Senate today.

Train and his men of the SAF’s 84th Seaborne Company led the assault on the hideout of Zulkifli, also known as Marwan.

Train lost many of his men, including Senior Inspector Gednat Tabdi, who severed the index finger of Marwan for DNA analysis.

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation confirmed in its initial analysis that the DNA sample taken from Marwan matched those of his elder brother Rahmat, a naturalized US citizen currently serving his sentence for conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists.

Meanwhile, Lalan was the lone survivor of the 55th SAF Company ambushed by Muslim rebels as they provided a blocking force for Train’s group on the way back.

The 55th SAF Company led by Inspector Ryan Pabalinas were killed when they were attacked from all directions.

As Train’s team moved out of the rebel’s lair after neutralizing Marwan, they were met with heavy gunfire. For hours, the group took cover and crawled on the ground.

Initially, the police commandos did not want to engage the rebels but they were forced to return fire in self-defense after they were attacked with automatic gunfire and mortars.

Before noon, Train said his men were getting hit each minute while on the run. Three of the SAF policemen had to be dragged by their comrades from the scene.

Train earlier ordered his men to hold the line and wait for nightfall before moving out.

At past 1 p.m., some 24 police commandos were pinned down by enemy fire.

“We literally had to hug the ground to avoid getting hit,” Train said.

There were three waves of mortar attacks with many seriously wounded, Train said.

“That was when my men started to die,” Train told his superiors.

Behind enemy lines

Under the hail of bullets, Train called SAF commander Director Getulio Napeñas for reinforcements. Napeñas was then monitoring the operations from Shariff Aguak town.

Sources said Napeñas and his deputy, Chief Superintendent Noli Taliño, were monitoring the distress calls from their men in the field.

A text message and calls were also sent to suspended national police chief Director General Alan Purisima.

Napeñas claimed he tried to ask PNP headquarters for help and the military for reinforcement but his pleas apparently fell on deaf ears.

The rebels used mortars in pressing their attack on the beleaguered policemen in the area between 2 to 3 p.m.

Other SAF teams, including the 45th Company, were deployed to rescue the 55th company but they were repulsed by enemy fire.

Train said his team was pinned by sniper fire that prevented them from running to safer ground.

The artillery attack came at about 6 p.m., then deafening silence throughout the night.

Train said they waited to recover their strength to get out of the area again as nighttime approached.

At an abandoned nipa hut, Train and his men, with some severely wounded – waited and planned their tactical exit from the area. Then they decided to wait for rescue.

“We found them, they survived,” another source told The STAR, quoting a member of a special team formed to rescue Train and the rest of the SAF troopers which arrived at 11: 30 p.m. of Jan. 25.

The SAF survivors, all wounded, were airlifted at around 1:30 a.m. the next day.

The takedown

Awakened by the noise from the approaching SAF troopers, Marwan opened fire at the policemen.

“The target turned off the light inside his hut, so we took it as a sign that we got the right hut,” Train was quoted as telling his superiors in his debriefing.

Train said his men encircled the hut then fired back, fatally hitting the target in the chest.

Two other suspects were able to run away before Marwan opened fire. Marwan reportedly hit a coconut tree that fell on one of the raiding policemen.

Upon sensing no movement inside the target’s house, they went inside where Tabdi severed the index finger of the target for DNA analysis. The team also took pictures of the slain target.

In the debriefing, Train provided a timeline on how his team infiltrated their target before dawn as 36 commandos, one by one, crossed a muddy river in a bid to reach Marwan’s hideout.

About 400 meters away from the river, the first batch of 13 commandos located the suspect’s nipa hut, based on the description of the still unnamed informant.

They traversed an unfamiliar terrain, a muddy river, a vast cornfield in the territory shared by the separatist Bangsamoro Islamic Liberation Front (BIFF) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

According to Train, the assault team jumped off for the mission at around 2:30 a.m. on Jan. 25. About 45 minutes later, only 13 troopers were able to cross the river using buoys and safety lines.

Due to the strong current, Train’s team took longer to cross the river in going to Marwan’s hideout.

Not wanting to lose time, Train said he and his team proceeded to walk about 400 meters towards the target house.

At around 4 a.m., Train and his men were able to positively identify Marwan’s hut.

The firefight lasted about 15 minutes. Another target, Abdul Basit Usman, who was reportedly at another nipa hut about 70 to 100 meters away, managed to escape.

American involvement

Sources revealed the US military was involved in the operation in providing intelligence information to the SAF team.

A team of US military officers was with Napeñas, Taliño and the Army’s 6th Infantry Division commander Major Gen. Edmundo Pangilinan.