By Dennis Carcamo (philstar.com) | Updated January 26, 2015 - 5:51pm
More than 40 members of the Philippine National Police-Special Action Force were killed during the Maguindanao clash.
MANILA, Philippines - Authorities said around 43 members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) were killed during the clash between policemen and Moro Islamic Libertation Front (MILF) in Maguindanao.
The PNP, however, said that the number could be higher as retrieval operations are still ongoing.
In a press conference at the Army's 6th Infantry Division in Cotabato, Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas offered a moment of silence for the fallen policemen, who are member of the Special Action Force (SAF).
"Let us pause for a moment of silence for the largest loss of life in an operation in recent history," Roxas said.
Roxas and PNP officer in charge, Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina, went to Cotabato to get accurate information on the number of policemen killed during the encounter.
Based on PNP data, there are still policemen who are still missing or unaccounted for.
Meanwhile, more than 30 bodies of policemen killed are now at Camp Siongco, Awang, Maguindanao for verification.
Authorities have launched a pursuit operations against the gunmen who reportedly took with them five other policemen during the encounter.
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