Failed Antiterrorist Operation in Manila Results in 6 Dead, Raising Doubts about Leadership

Failed Antiterrorist Operation in Manila Results in 6 Dead, Raising Doubts about Leadership

The Philippine Star

Alejandro Pampani

An antiterrorist operation failed dramatically today in Manila, leaving six security agents dead. Operation Wasp’s Nest consisted in a raid on the NICA hideout that had been previously attacked by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and evacuated. At their arrival on the site, the agents set off an improvised explosive device trap which killed a NICA agent and five members of the Naval Special Operations Unit 8, and left three severely wounded. The hideout appeared to be completely empty, with no remaining MILF members, contrary to what the mission suspected. According to sources in government, the failed operation aroused unprecedented outrage in the NICA from the Filipino public, with many officers denouncing it as the result of a completely illogical political decision emanating from the top of the hierarchy. NCIA Director Ager P. Otong finds himself in a delicate position, being accused of having “neglected obvious facts and risks” about the hideout before ordering the raid. There was little doubt, indeed, that the terrorists would not stay in the safehouse after attacking it.