Pata Island massacre

Pata Island massacre
Part of the Moro conflict
Pata Island is located in Philippines
Pata Island
Pata Island
Pata Island (Philippines)
DateFebruary 12, 1981
Location
Pata, Sulu, Philippines
5°49′44″N 121°09′35″E / 5.8288°N 121.1596°E / 5.8288; 121.1596
Belligerents
Philippine Army Moro National Liberation Front[1]
Commanders and leaders
Lt. Col Jacinto Sardual[2] Commander Unad Masillam[2] also called Meas Unad[3]
Units involved
Headquarters Service Company
31st Infantry Battalion
1st Infantry Division		 Unknown
Strength
approximately 125 soldiers approximately 400 men[2]
Casualties and losses
119[4]-124[5] killed 16[5]-49[3] killed

The Pata Island massacre refers to an event that took place on February 12, 1981, on Pata Island, Sulu province in the Philippines. More than 100 Philippine Army officers and men were killed by Moro natives in what was called by retired Major General Delfin Castro as "the biggest number of casualties incurred by the Armed Forces of the Philippines in a single incident since the start of the conflict in Mindanao and had the dubious distinction of achieving the biggest losses in AFP firearms and equipment in a single incident."[2] An estimated 3,000 Tausug civilians, including women and children, were killed in months of shelling by military forces in 1982 and was tagged as the Pata Island massacre.[6]

  1. ^ Richardson, Michael (February 16, 1981). "Moslem rebels massacre 124 soldiers". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d Major General Delfin Castro (Ret). "A Mindanao Story – Troubled Decades in the Eye of the Storm". Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
  3. ^ a b Tan, Ab (March 31, 1981). "Killings Embitter Philippine Moslem Revolt". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
  4. ^ Inquirer Research (January 27, 2015). "Most violent encounters between gov't forces and rebels". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
  5. ^ a b "How troops met their deaths in island massacre". Sydney Morning Herald. February 19, 1981. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference inqMorosRecallMassacres was invoked but never defined (see the help page).