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Embassy denies US drone used to locate commandos in Mamasapano clash


The United States Embassy in Manila has denied a report that a drone sent by the US helped locate Special Action Force commandos during the recent Mamasapano operation.
 
In an email to GMA News Online on Thursday, Anna Richey, assistant information officer of the embassy, said: "No US surveillance drone was used."
 
The US Embassy has previously denied the participation of US forces in the operation. 
 
A report on 24 Oras on Wednesday quoted a source as saying the US sent a drone to Mamasapano after the PNP-SAF asked for support. 
 
The drone was successful in locating the SAF's 84th Company that neutralized suspected terrorist Zulkfi bi Hir alias Marwan but was trapped in the area due to the surrounding armed men.
 
With the information gathered from the grid coordinates sent by the drone, authorities launched a support force composed of SAF members and the military, the source said.
 
It was around 11 p.m. on January 25 when the support force located the SAF's 84th company and conducted exfiltration procedures.
 
Around 4 a.m. on January 26, the rescue team along with the 84th SAF company reached Mamasapano's main highway. There were 8 dead, 11 injured and 17 survivors from the 84th SAF company.
 
The operation ended with the PNP-SAF reporting that Marwan was neutralized.
 
But Filipino bomb maker Abdul Basit Usman managed to escape.
 
Earlier, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin likewise denied allegations that the US was involved in the operations, saying that they only helped during the medical evacuation after the deadly clash. 
 
Gazmin added the presence of US forces in Maguindanao during the clash is not a rare sight as the Philippines have also asked their help in similar situations. 
 
A spokesperson for the US' Federal Bureau of Investigation had also said the agency "was not involved in the planning and execution of the operation.
 
On Wednesday, the FBI confirmed that a test on the DNA sample it received from Philippine authorities showed it came from the wanted international terrorist.
 
The FBI had offered $5 million for the arrest of Marwan, a Malaysian member of the al Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiah militant group behind numerous bombing attacks in the Philippines. —NB, GMA News
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