2007 Basilan beheading incident was an Islamic insurgency between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front

Moro Islamic Liberation Front

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front is an Islamist group located in the southern Philippines. It is one of two Islamic militant groups, the other being the Abu Sayyaf, that are fighting against Government of the Philippines...

 (MILF) rebels, and the Philippine Army

Philippine Army

The Philippine Army is the ground arm of the Armed Forces of the Philippines . Its official name in Tagalog is Hukbong Katihan ng Pilipinas. On July 23, 2010, President Benigno Aquino III appointed Maj. Gen...

 which led to the execution of about 14 or 23 members of the Philippine Marines, and beheaded 11 of them on the province of Basilan in the southern Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

.

Background

On June 10, 2007, Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 priest Giancarlo Bossi of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME) was kidnapped in Payao

Payao, Zamboanga Sibugay

Payao is a 4th class municipality in the province of Zamboanga Sibugay, Philippines. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 27,036 people in 5,381 households.-Barangays:Payao is politically subdivided into 29 barangays.* Balian* Balogo...

, Zamboanga Sibugay

Zamboanga Sibugay

Zamboanga Sibugay is a province of the Philippines located in the Zamboanga Peninsula region in Mindanao. Its capital is Ipil and it borders Zamboanga del Norte to the north, Zamboanga del Sur to the east and Zamboanga City to the southwest. To the south lies Sibuguey Bay in the Moro Gulf...

 province. His captors were believed to be renegade MILF members or Abu Sayyaf

Abu Sayyaf

Abu Sayyaf also known as al-Harakat al-Islamiyya is one of several military Islamist separatist groups based in and around the southern Philippines, in Bangsamoro where for almost 30 years various Muslim groups have been engaged in an insurgency for an independent province in the country...

.

His captors have released photographs of Bossi as alive and well, but have not communicated with the Philippine government negotiators about any demands. Early operations of the Armed Forces of the Philippines

Armed Forces of the Philippines

The Armed Forces of the Philippines is composed of the Philippine Army, Philippine Navy and Philippine Air Force...

 were concentrated on Zamboanga Sibugay, in the belief that the captors had not left the province.

Operations in Basilan

On July 10, 2007, according to MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal, violence broke out at Tipo-Tipo, Basilan

Tipo-Tipo, Basilan

Tipo-tipo is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Basilan, Philippines. According to the 2007 census, it has a population of 26,548 people....

, a known Moro region, when Marines entered the town. Lieutenant Col. Ariel Caculitan, spokesman for the Philippine Marines, said the death toll of the Marines was 23 (some document say the location of the encounter was at Al-Barka

Al-Barka, Basilan

Al-Barka is a 6th class municipality in the province of Basilan, Philippines. It was created by Muslim Mindanao Autonomy Act No. 191, ratified by plebiscite on May 22, 2006...

 a new municipality established by Islamic soldiers at Tipo-Tipo).

During the firefight, which lasted a day, at least 20 armed militants were killed, and seven others were wounded. MILF soldiers which later scoured the area after the firefight found 11 headless corpses of Marines. Aside from the beheaded remains, MILF forces recovered "27 firearms were recovered from the scene. These are: six M60 machine guns; eight M203 grenade launchers, 10 M-16 Armalite rifles, a 60-mm mortar, and several night vision goggles".

Brigadier General Ramiro Alivio, chief of 1st Marine Brigade, said that aside from the MILF, the guerrillas consisted of Abu Sayyaf, and other rebel groups.

However, the Philippine Army said the Abu Sayyaf were not present in the region where Bossi was captured. The official government death toll was 14, although Philippine newspapers says 23 soldiers were dead on the Marines' side.

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front stated "the Marines entered the MILF territory in the town of Tipo-Tipo in complete disregard of the ceasefire agreement between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, and the Philippine government".

Reaction

Matthew Lussenhop, United States press attaché in Manila, remarked that "It's a tragic incident. The United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

embassy condoles with the families of killed, and wounded soldiers although it's still not clear to us what really happened".