U.N. peacekeepers from Philippines successfully extracted in firefight
- 10 years ago
ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION)
STORY: Nearly three dozen U.N. peacekeepers from the Philippines who had been surrounded for days by Islamist militants on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights were rescued on Saturday (August 30) during a firefight, U.N. officials said.
A Reuters cameraman spotted 11 United Nations armored vehicles returning to their base in Israeli controlled territory about 12 hours after a Philippines force came under attack at around 6 a.m. (0400 GMT), Philippines defense chief Voltaire Gazmin told reporters in Manila.
"They were safely extracted, nearly three dozen of them," a U.N. official told Reuters on condition of anonymity. Other U.N. officials confirmed it. Officials in the Philippines have said all 72 of the trapped Filipino peacekeepers were safe.
The U.N. officials said the other Philippine peacekeepers remained trapped by the militants, who have been battling the Syrian army on the Golan Heights. Another 44 Fijian peacekeepers h
STORY: Nearly three dozen U.N. peacekeepers from the Philippines who had been surrounded for days by Islamist militants on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights were rescued on Saturday (August 30) during a firefight, U.N. officials said.
A Reuters cameraman spotted 11 United Nations armored vehicles returning to their base in Israeli controlled territory about 12 hours after a Philippines force came under attack at around 6 a.m. (0400 GMT), Philippines defense chief Voltaire Gazmin told reporters in Manila.
"They were safely extracted, nearly three dozen of them," a U.N. official told Reuters on condition of anonymity. Other U.N. officials confirmed it. Officials in the Philippines have said all 72 of the trapped Filipino peacekeepers were safe.
The U.N. officials said the other Philippine peacekeepers remained trapped by the militants, who have been battling the Syrian army on the Golan Heights. Another 44 Fijian peacekeepers h