 An Army officer and an enlisted man were killed on Monday in Sulu Island when the military truck they were riding hit a land mine, causing it to explode. Eight other soldiers were wounded. All soldiers belong to the 53rd Infantry Battalion, according to Major General Gabriel Habacon, 1st Tabak Division commander. Habacon said the soldiers were traveling from Jolo to the Abu Sayyaf's Karawan compound when the truck hit the land mine somewhere between Maimbung and Indanan towns around 11 a.m. Monday. The truck driver, a private first class, was instantly killed. The Army officer, a member of the Philippine Military Academy Class 2004, died on the way to the hospital. The Inquirer is withholding their names pending military notification of their families. The military suspects the Abu Sayyaf planted the land mine. |