Incident Summary:
02/22/2003: At around 3AM local time, a number of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) gunmen attacked a military detachment of the Philippine Army's 57th Infantry Battalion at Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao Province, Philippines. MILF fired seven RPGs toward the detachment, followed by automatic fire from assault rifles. The ensuing firefight was located 3 km from the Philippine Army's 6th Infantry Division headquarters in Barangay Awang, on the highway between Cotabato City and Isulan in Sultan Kudarat Province. Four soldiers and six MILF militants were severely wounded in the attack. The MILF militants withdrew when reinforcements arrived. The Philippine Army recovered several containers of gasoline, possibility intended to burn the detachment's equipment. A MILF spokesman confirmed the attacks and claimed responsibility in an interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
Overview
GTD ID:
200302220001
When:
2003-02-22
Country:
Philippines
Region:
Southeast Asia
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
Maguindanao
City:
Bito
What
Attack Information
| Type of Attack () |
Armed Assault |
| Successful Attack? () |
Yes |
Target Information ()
| Target Type: Military |
|---|
| Name of Entity |
Philippine Army |
| Specific Description |
57th Infantry Battalion of 6th Army Infantry Division, Datu Odin Sinusat town, Maguindanao Province |
| Nationality of Target |
Philippines |
Additional Information
| Hostages |
No |
| Ransom |
No |
| Property Damage |
Unknown |
| Extent of Property Damage |
Unknown |
| Value of Property Damage |
Unknown |
How
Weapon Information
| Type |
Sub-type |
| Explosives |
Projectile (rockets, mortars, RPGs, etc.) |
| Firearms |
Automatic Weapon |
| Weapon Details |
|---|
| Rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles with automatic fire were used in the attack. |
Additional Information
| Suicide Attack? | No |
| Part of Multiple Incident? | No |
| Criterion 1 () |
Yes |
| Criterion 2 () |
Yes |
| Criterion 3 () |
Yes |
| Doubt Terrorism Proper () |
No |
Who
Perpetrator Statistics
| Number of Perpetrators |
Unknown |
| Number of Captured Perpetrators |
0 |
Casualty Information
| Total Number of Casualties |
6 Fatalities / 4 Injured |
| Total Number of Fatalities |
6 |
| Number of U.S. Fatalities |
0 |
| Number of Perpetrator Fatalities |
6 |
| Total Number of Injured |
4 |
| Number of U.S. Injured |
0 |
| Number of Perpetrators Injured |
Unknown |
Sources
Sources
| Christine Avenda, Edwin O. Fernandez, and Martin P. Marfil, "4 soldiers hurt in MILF counterstrike," Philippine Daily Inquirer, February 25, 2003. |
| "Six killed in Muslim rebel attack on Philippine army detachment," AP, February 23, 2003. |
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
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