SAF (Special Action Force) 44, Our Heroes

Manila (CNN)Flags were flown at half-staff in the Philippines Friday as the nation observed a day of
mourning for 44 police commandos killed in a disastrous operation in the country's Muslim south.
The officers, members of the police's elite Special Action Force (SAF) unit, were killed in a 12-hour
firefight with two Muslim rebel groups in the southern province of Maguindanao at the weekend.
Their 392-strong team had been deployed to hunt two "most wanted" terror suspects.
The fallen police were farewelled by grieving family members, politicians and police and military
leadership at their home base, Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City Friday.
Policemen across the country wore black armbands to show their sympathy.
Delivering a eulogy for the fallen, President Benigno Aquino III made reference to his own loss as the
son of an assassinated political leader, and vowed to bring the remaining target of the commandos'
mission to justice.
"Our 44 fallen heroes from our police force, the youngest at 26 and the most senior at 39 years old,
pushed themselves and exerted all their effort to do what they could, not only for themselves and their
families, but for our beloved country," he said.
"They gave up their lives for the kind of peace and order that endures."
The president's father, Benigno Aquino, Jr., was a Filipino senator who was assassinated at Manila
International Airport in 1983.

'High value' targets

The officers had been pursuing two "high value" terrorist bomb makers, including the senior Jemaah
Islamiyah figure Zulkifli bin Hir, also known as Marwan, when they came under assault.
Marwan, a Malaysian suspected of being behind the 2002 Bali bombings, has a $5 million U.S.
government bounty on his head.
Philippine authorities say they believe he was killed in the raid, but are yet to conduct DNA testing to
confirm this. Previous reports of his death have proven false.
The unit's other target, Filipino bomb maker Abdul Basit Usman, escaped.
Aquino swore during the eulogy that Usman would be brought to justice.
"Capturing Basit Usman is number one on our list of priorities," he said. "I assure you, we will get
Usman."

'I feel guilty'

Police Chief Superintendent Noli G. Talino, deputy director of the Special Action Force, delivered a
speech recounting how the satisfaction of the assault on Marwan soured as the commandos became
pinned down during the extraction.
He recalled hearing the voice of a colleague on the radio asking for reinforcements, as they became
surrounded by armed rebels.
"I felt guilty ... about what happened in the field, and it seems our efforts were not enough to extend
the help that they have asked for. But we did our best," he said.
"Is it worth it? One international terrorist equivalent to 44 SAF troopers? I'm sure if you will ask them,
it is worth it."