2 soldiers die in Marawi aircraft 'friendly fire,' 11 hurt

MARAWI CITY -- Two soldiers were killed while 11 others were injured when a bomb from an aircraft missed its target and exploded near the position of government troops here around noontimeon Wednesday. Investigation is being conducted to determine the circumstances surrounding an incident where an ordnance missed its target during an airstrike conducted at about12 noonof12 July 2017, Colonel Edgard Arevalo, Armed Forces of the Philippines public affairs chief, said. Initial report from Marawi indicates that the bomb was 250 meters off target. The impact of the explosion caused the collapse of nearby structures. Large debris from heavily reinforced buildings accidentally hit two of our personnel who succumbed to death in the process, Lt. Col. Jo-ar Herrera, the spokesperson of Task Force Marawi, said. He said 11 soldiers suffered minor shrapnel injuries in the second friendly fire that hurt, killed government forces. We are saddened by this unfortunate incident. We are attending to the needs of the families of our troops who died or were hurt. Cognizant units from the AFP have formed a group that is now conducting initial investigations to determine the cause of the mishap and prevent the chances of it re-occuring, Herrera said.It was the second incident wherein soldiers were the ones hit by government bombs.??Meanwhile, 11 are ambulatory and are recuperating in the nearby hospital.??