Two United States Troops killed in Philippines by land mine or IED.

The presence of U.S. troops in the Philippines is a sensitive issue. Although all former US bases have been closed there are still a number of U.S. troops in the Philippines who train the Armed Forces of the PHilippines and also are involved in humanitarian missions. As the article notes there have been some complaints that the troops have actually been involved in combat and one might expect that there have been some special forces operations although this is denied by U.S. authorities. Some Philippine officials now want to make sure that U.S. troops do not enter combat zones as they obviously did in this instance. Authorities worry not ony that US troops may suffer casualties but that they may shoot innocent Filipinos in error causing even more problems for the relationship between the government and the U.S. troops. The IED or land mine was probably laid by members of the Abu Sayyaf group that operates in the area. The excerpts are from a CBS news report.

""""Two U.S. troops were killed in a land mine attack Tuesday by suspected al Qaeda-linked militants in the southern Philippines, officials said.

It was believed to be just the second time U.S. soldiers have been killed in the southern Philippines in violence blamed on the Abu Sayyaf group since American counterterrorism troops were deployed to the region in 2002, and the first fatalities in years.

One Philippine marine also was killed and two others were wounded in the blast on Jolo island, where the Americans have been providing combat training and weapons to Filipino troops battling Abu Sayyaf militants.

Lo reports that the slain troops were noncombatant members of the U.S. Navy.

"They were not in combat," Brawner confirmed to reporters. "These U.S. soldiers were there in the area to supervise the developmental projects in Indanan."

In a statement, the U.S. Embassy said the deaths happened when the soldiers' vehicle struck an improvised explosive device at about 8:45 a.m. (0045 GMT) during a resupply mission for the school construction project.

Brawner said no suspects were immediately identified, but suspicion immediately fell on the well-armed Abu Sayyaf, which is blamed for numerous bombings, beheadings and kidnappings of Filipinos and foreigners in the south in recent years.

Lo reports that Jolo is Abu Sayyaf's stronghold in the southern Philippines.

Abu Sayyaf has declared a temporary ceasefire in the Philippines, vowing to help local villagers recover from the devastating flooding left in the wake of Tropical Storm Ketsana. At least 240 people have been killed and many thousands more left homeless by the inundation, primarily in the northern parts of the country.

An estimated 600 U.S. troops are stationed in the Philippines to train and advise their Filipino counterparts in their fight against Abu Sayyaf and other Muslim insurgents in the country's south, reports Lo.

In recent months, however, a Philippine Navy officer has accused U.S. troops of engaging directly in the fighting. The accusation has been repeatedly denied by both the Filipino military and the U.S. Embassy. It has stoked significant protests on the streets of Manila, with demonstrators calling for the immediate withdrawal of all U.S. forces. ""

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