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RIP to these Troops.
Landmine kills 2 U.S. soldiers in the Philippines
Tue Sep 29, 2009 1:50am EDT
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE58S0JS20090929
MANILA (Reuters) - Two U.S. soldiers and one Filipino marine were killed on Tuesday in a land mine attack in a stronghold of Islamic militants in the southern Philippines.
Philippine army spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Romeo Brawner said two other Filipino soldiers were also wounded when the vehicle they were riding in struck an improvised land mine near Indanan town on the island of Jolo.
They were the first deaths since 2002 among U.S. soldiers deployed in troubled areas in the southern Philippines. In that year, one soldier in a restaurant was killed by a bomb on a motorcycle parked outside.
"We're still investigating to determine who was behind the explosion," Brawner told reporters, adding the latest attack happened near a Marine outpost in Indanan.
Since 2002, the United States has deployed about 300 soldiers to help train, advise and assist local troops fight a small group of Abu Sayyaf rebels, who have close ties to the regional militant network, Jemaah Islamiah (JI).
Based on an agreement with Manila, U.S. troops are not allowed to participate in actual combat, but are authorized to fight back when attacked. Rebels have fired at U.S. soldiers on Jolo island in past incidents.
Last month, the Philippine military lost 23 soldiers during an assault on the Abu Sayyaf's main base near Indanan, one of the biggest battles since 2007.