On 25 January 2015, three platoons of
the elite SAF police squad ventured into the guerrilla enclave of
Tukanalipao, Mindanao, Philippines, with the goal of detaining
high-ranking, Jemaah Islamiyah-affiliated,
improvised-explosive-device experts Zulkifli Abdhir and Basit Usman.
The SAF troops were then ambushed by a group of MILF militants,
suffering heavy casualties. Running out of ammunition, a dozen of
surviving policemen attempted to withdraw. At the same time, rebels
belonging to BIFF gathered from nearby villages, immediately engaging
the retreating law enforcement agents. The militants overpowered the
remaining policemen, later killing the wounded and firing multiple
bullets into the corpses of the slain. A total of 44 SAF officers
were killed, while rebel casualties amounted to at least 5 killed and
10 wounded.
Fiat justitia ruat caelum is a Latin
legal phrase, meaning "Let justice be done though the heavens
fall." The maxim signifies the belief that justice must be
realized regardless of consequences.
Mixed media illustration; 2015