MANILA, July 12 — The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has formed an investigation team to look into the incident where two soldiers were killed and another 11 wounded after being hit by debris caused by a wayward aerial bomb in Marawi City Wednesday afternoon.
“Investigation is being conducted to determine the circumstances surrounding an incident where an ordnance missed its target during an airstrike conducted at about 12 noon of 12 July 2017,” military public affairs office chief Col. Edgard Arevalo said in a message.
Initial report from Marawi indicates that the bomb was 250 meters off target. The impact of the explosion caused the collapse of nearby structures.
“Large debris from heavily reinforced buildings accidentally hit two of our personnel who (died )in the process,” Arevalo added.
However, he did not identified the specific aircraft responsible for this incident.
Meanwhile, 11 others sustained minor shrapnel wounds. All are ambulatory and are recuperating in the nearby hospital.
“We are saddened by this unfortunate incident. We are attending to the needs of the families of our troops who died or were hurt. Cognizant units from the AFP have formed a group that is now conducting initial investigations to determine the cause of the mishap and prevent the chances of it re-occuring,” the official said.
This is the second incident involving aerial bombs causing casualties to friendly forces in the ongoing Marawi City crisis.
Last May 30, an Air Force SF-260 light attack aircraft, conducting strike missions against Maute Group terrorists, accidentally bombed an Army position in Marawi City, killing 10 troopers and wounded seven others.
The incident prompted the temporary grounding of the above-mentioned aircraft and investigation of flying personnel involved. (PNA)
