Incident Summary:
11/14/1999: Approximately 200 Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels took control of and occupied Tibao village in M'lang town in the Philippines. The MILF rebels barricaded the highway in an effort to control military response. One individual (a militiaman) was killed and four others (including a police officer) were wounded. Approximately 100 villagers were held captive during the attack, although MILF representatives claim that the villagers were simply trapped by the exchange between the rebels and the military, and were not held hostage. The attack was prompted by ongoing territorial issues between the rebels and the military.
Overview
GTD ID:
199911140008
When:
1999-11-14
Country:
Philippines
Region:
Southeast Asia
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
North Cotabato
City:
Tibao
What
Attack Information
Type of Attack () |
Armed Assault |
Type of Attack () |
Hostage Taking (Barricade Incident) |
Successful Attack? () |
Yes |
Target Information ()
Target Type: Military |
Name of Entity |
Philippines military |
Specific Description |
Soldiers in the area of the Tibao village |
Nationality of Target |
Philippines |
Target Type: Police |
Name of Entity |
Philippines police |
Specific Description |
Police officers in the area of Tibao village |
Nationality of Target |
Philippines |
Target Type: Private Citizens & Property |
Name of Entity |
Civilians |
Specific Description |
Tibao residents and others in the vicinity of the village |
Nationality of Target |
Philippines |
Additional Information
Hostages |
Yes |
Number of Hostages |
100 |
US Hostages |
0 |
Outcome |
Hostage(s) released by perpetrators |
Ransom |
No |
Property Damage |
Unknown |
Extent of Property Damage |
Unknown |
Value of Property Damage |
Unknown |
How
Weapon Information
Type |
Sub-type |
Firearms |
Unknown Gun Type |
Additional Information
Suicide Attack? | No |
Part of Multiple Incident? | No |
Criterion 1 () |
Yes |
Criterion 2 () |
Yes |
Criterion 3 () |
Yes |
Doubt Terrorism Proper () |
No |
Additional Information |
Although sources state that the rebels kidnapped the villagers, the rebels state that the villagers were trapped in the crossfire between the rebels and the military but were not held against their will |
Who
Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators |
200 |
Number of Captured Perpetrators |
0 |
Casualty Information
Total Number of Casualties |
1 Fatalities / 4 Injured |
Total Number of Fatalities |
1 |
Number of U.S. Fatalities |
0 |
Number of Perpetrator Fatalities |
0 |
Total Number of Injured |
4 |
Number of U.S. Injured |
0 |
Number of Perpetrators Injured |
0 |
Sources
Sources
"Roundup: Moslem rebels occupy village, block off national highway in southern Philippines," Deutsche Presse-Agentur, November 14, 1999. |
"Muslim separatists free hostages after village attack," Radio Australia, November 16, 1999. |
"Rebels deny taking 100 hostage in recent fighting," GMA-7 Radio-Television Arts, November 17, 1999. |
Criteria
Criteria 1
The act must be aimed at attaining a political, economic, religious, or social goal. In terms of economic goals, the exclusive pursuit of profit does not satisfy this criterion. It must involve the pursuit of more profound, systemic economic change.
Criterion 2
There must be evidence of an intention to coerce, intimidate, or convey some other message to a larger audience (or audiences) than the immediate victims. It is the act taken as a totality that is considered, irrespective if every individual involved in carrying out the act was aware of this intention. As long as any of the planners or decision-makers behind the attack intended to coerce, intimidate or publicize, the intentionality criterion is met.
Criterion 3
The action must be outside the context of legitimate warfare activities. That is, the act must be outside the parameters permitted by international humanitarian law (particularly the prohibition against deliberately targeting civilians or non-combatants.
Doubt Terrorism Proper
The existence of a "Yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper?" records reservation, in the eyes of GTD analysts, that the incident in question is truly terrorism. Such uncertainty, however, was not deemed to be sufficient to disqualify the incident from inclusion into the GTD. Furthermore, such a determination of doubt is subsequently coded by GTD analysts as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Alternate Designation
The determination of "yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper" by GTD analysts is coded as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Successful Attack
Success of a terrorist strike is defined according to the tangible effects of the attack. For example, in a typical successful bombing, the bomb detonates and destroys property and/or kills individuals, whereas an unsuccessful bombing is one in which the bomb is discovered and defused or detonates early and kills the perpetrators. Success is not judged in terms of the larger goals of the perpetrators. For example, a bomb that exploded in a building would be counted as a success even if it did not, for example, succeed in bringing the building down or inducing government repression.
Type of Attack
This field captures the general method of attack and often reflects the broad class of tactics used. It consists of the following nine categories:
- Assassination
- Armed Assault
- Unarmed Assault
- Bombing/Explosion
- Hijacking
- Hostage taking (Barricade Incident)
- Hostage taking (Kidnapping)
- Facility / Infrastructure Attack
- Unknown
Target Information
This field captures the general type of target. It consists of the following 22 categories:
- Abortion Related
- Airports & Airlines
- Business
- Government (General)
- Government (Diplomatic)
- Educational Institution
- Food or Water Supply
- Journalists & Media
- Maritime (includes Ports and Maritime facilities)
- Military
- NGO
- Other
- Police
- Private Citizens & Property
- Religious Figures/Institutions
- Telecommunication
- Terrorists
- Tourists
- Transportation (other than aviation)
- Unknown
- Utilities
- Violent Political Parties