Soldier who killed Abu leader dies in training

The soldier who shot dead Abu Sayyaf commander Abu Solaiman earlier this year has died from a gunshot wound during a military training exercise. Army spokesman Major Ernesto Torres said Staff Sergeant Raul Suacillo of the 8th Special Forces Company died on July 3 from a lone bullet from a M16 rifle discharged during training in Fort Magsaysay in Palayan, Nueva Ecija. Another soldier who admitted to discharging the weapon that killed Suacillo is being held. Solaiman was the alias of Jainal Antel Sali, the self-styled spokesman of the Abu Sayyaf Group, blamed for a spate of kidnappings and bombings, and believed to be then its no. 2 man. Solaiman was reportedly relieving himself in a heavily forested area of Mt. Dajo in Talipao town, Sulu when Suacillo, part of an elite Army team pursuing the group, chanced upon the Abu Sayyaf leader. Suacillo asked Solaiman at gunpoint to surrender but the former resisted. “I waited for him (Solaiman) to finish (relieving himself). So that we will not be compromised, I called him because I want to apprehend him. We even had an eye contact. I told him ‘don’t make a noise’," Suacillo had said. The Army sergeant had narrated that instead of surrendering, Solaiman ran and chanted “Allahu Akbar (God is great)." He said he opened fire at Solaiman to stop him from shouting that could warn other Abu Sayyaf members. Suacillo and 8th SF Company commander 1st Lieutenant Almirante Mijares were accorded the Distinguished Conduct Star, the second-highest combat recognition, in March for the killing of Solaiman. Training umpire Torres said that during the fatal training, Suacillo was acting as one of the umpires and "aggressors" during practical exercises on ambush and counterambush. The decorated sergeant was hit a single M16 bullet that went through his right arm and penetrated his heart before it got embedded inside his upper body. He was rushed to Ft Magsaysay hospital but was declared dead on arrival. Suacillo was given a hero's burial on July 14 at the Libingan ng mga Bayani at Fort Bonifacio, Taguig. Apart from his relatives and friends, the burial was attended by officer and men of the Special Forces Regiment, Special Operations Command, 1st Scout Ranger Regiment, and Light Reaction Battalion. Corporal held Torres said a certain Corporal Caban, whom he described as a tail scout of the SF team in the exercise, readily admitted that he fired the live bullet that resulted in Suacillo's death. “Somebody has claimed responsibility over the incident. He is detained at 7th (Infantry Division hedquarters," Torres said. Caban, who is being detained at the military police stockage in Ft Magsaysay, was reportedly surprised why he accidentally inserted a magazine with live bullets instead of blank ammunition that they were issued before the training exercise. The Army has asked the Army Inspector General to formally conduct a thorough investigation. -GMANews.TV