PNP Muslim general says 2 civilians beheaded by SAF earned ire of MIFF, BIFF

By Mar T. Supnad

The first chief of Salaam police, a retired Tausug general, urged Wednesday immediate dissolution of the Special Action Force following news the ambush which resulted to killing of 13 cops was brought about by alleged beheading of two civilians by the SAF who mistook them for international terrorists in Maguindanao.

Chief Supt. Sahiron Dulah Salim (retired) said what earned the ire of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom fighters  was when the SAF mistook two civilian Muslims as terrorists whom, they captured and beheaded, quoting his sources from Mamasapano, Maguindanao.

“I was not in the area but reliable sources there told me about this real incident that took place there,” said Salim.

Dubbed “rebel hunter” for having killed a number of rebels during his stint,  Salim said after the incident,  a woman in the area who allegedly saw the beheading of the two innocent civilians ran away and informed the MILF and BIFF about it, who in turn, set up an ambush along the exit points of the SAF, resulting to the killing of 44 SAF members and wounding of several others.

“Bilang dating sundalo at pulis, ako ay nasasaktan sa nangyaring pagkamatay ng napakaramingpulis, pero masakit man sabihin ng unit katangahan itong mga SAF dahil hindi nila sinigurado yung huhulihin nila, di nila alam ang area at pinag-aralan ang mangyayari, nag interest sila (SAF) siguro sa reward money, kayat bigla silang sumugod doon sa kabundukan ng barangay TukanaLiapo, Masasapano, ” said Salim.  

He called for the immediate abolition of the SAF and have them deployed instead to municipal PNP stations for police visibility.

He said SAF members might have been interested in the $5 million bounty for the apprehension -- dead or alive -- of  Basit Usman and Malaysian Zulkilfi bin Hir alias Marwan  who have been training extremist groups in Central Mindanao on bomb-making and urban terrorism.

A full-blooded Tausug and native of Parang, Sulu, Salim expressed surprise why such huge number of SAF went for the operation when usually, he said, they will move only by few numbers and not by hundreds.

Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas announced Wednesday the relief of SAF director GetulioNapenas pending the conduct by a board of inquiry of the Philippine National Police, which will be headed by three police generals.

Napenas was replaced by his deputy Chief Supt. Noli Talino, a former police director of La Union and an intelligence expert.

The SAF commandos came from various units, most of them from the 88th and 55th Companies which were effective in foiling the Zamboanga City siege in 2013.

Roxas said all the SAF men who took part in the operation in Barangay TukanaLiapo in Mamasapano town, Maguiindanao, are now fully accounted, 336 of them unharmed.

Reports said initially, the PNP in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) claimed that 49 SAF men were slain, while the MILF reported the death of 64 SAF men.

It was not known whether the MILF count included the 10 allegedly killed by BIFF forces.