One U.S. military servicemember and three others are dead after an aircraft contracted by the U.S. Department of Defense crashed in the southern Philippines on Feb. 6.
“We can confirm no survivors of the crash.”
The crash occurred in the Philippine Province of Maguindanao del Sur, a southern province with a predominantly Muslim population.
The cause of the crash is under investigation, with more details expected to be released when they become available.
Names of the deceased are being withheld pending the notification of their next of kin.
According to Ameer Jehad Tim Ambolodto, a safety officer of Maguindanao del Sur, the bodies were retrieved from the wreckage.
Residents reported smoke coming from the plane, hearing an explosion before it dropped to the ground about half a mile away from some farmhouses, Windy Beaty, a provincial disaster-mitigation officer, told The Associated Press.
No one else was reported injured or near the crash site; however, a water buffalo was also killed.
While more recent U.S.-Philippine operations focus on aggression from the Chinese communist regime, the United States has also continued to assist Manila in its efforts to combat violent insurgence from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
A separatist movement claiming to seek Islamic self-rule, the Moro have fought against the Catholic-majority nation for decades. Peace was set to be claimed in 2014. However, negotiations have been ongoing but complicated. On Jan. 23, members of this group were reported to be involved in an attack on an army truck carrying soldiers set to secure a U.N. Development Program Project in the nearby Basilan province.
The United States has had military forces deployed to a Philippine military camp in the southern region of the country for decades to advise and train Filipino forces to combat the insurgents. However, it is unclear what sort of mission the aircraft was flying for the U.S. Department of Defense.
The plane crash comes after the fatal midair collision in Washington on Jan. 29 between an Army helicopter and an American Airlines passenger jet on final approach to land at Reagan National Airport.
The accident took 67 lives, including 60 airline passengers, four crew members, and three Army personnel aboard the helicopter.
