Philippines use Korean-made fighter jets in combat for first time to target terror suspects
The target was militant leader Isnilon Hapilon, who has reportedly been designated to lead an Islamic State group branch in Southeast Asia
A suspected Indonesian militant was killed and one of Southeast Asia’s top terror suspects was seriously wounded as the Philippines launched airstrikes using South Korean-made fighter jets for the first time in combat, the military chief said Sunday.
Eleven other militants were reportedly killed, Ano said, citing intelligence, but added their bodies have not been found.
Hapilon was wounded in the arm and was losing blood after air force aircraft, including FA50 supersonic fighter jets, unleashed six 225-kilogram bombs Wednesday night and Thursday on a militant encampment in an ongoing offensive, Ano and another air force official said. It was the first time that the FA50s, which were acquired from South Korea in late 2015 as the military’s only fighter jets, were deployed in a combat mission.
Four FA50s have been delivered and the rest of 12 jets are to be delivered by July, air force officials said. President Rodrigo Duterte has criticised the FA50s as being inadequate for counter-insurgency and good only as fly-by aircraft for ceremonies.