Duterte: Mamasapano was a CIA operation

President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday claimed that the Mamasapano clash that killed at least 60 people, including 44 police commandos, was an operation of the United States Central Intelligence Agency.

Addressing former President Benigno Aquino III and former Philippine National Police chief Alan Purisima, Duterte asked why this information was not made available to the public.

"Bakit ninyo itinago na actually it was an operation of the CIA?" he said in a speech before the families and widows of the Special Action Force members killed in the operation two years ago.

"Let it be brought to the open. It was an American adventure with the cooperation of some and apparently with your blessing. Sinabi mo, pawis na pawis ka sa TV and you were so stressed and you said, ‘Kasalanan ko ‘yan.’ But it is not enough," he added.

The operation resulted in the death of Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan, whose finger was cut off by police commandos and sent to the US Federal Bureau of Investigation for DNA identification. Marwan, a bomb maker, had a $5 million bounty on his head. —JST/KBK, GMA News