U.S. Marine from California identified as one of 4 people killed in Philippines plane crash
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — A U.S. Marine from California was identified by military officials Sunday as one of four people killed when a plane contracted by the U.S. military crashed in a rice field in the southern Philippines.
Sgt. Jacob M. Durham, 22, of Long Beach, died Thursday in the crash of an aircraft that was conducting a routine mission 'providing intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance support at the request of our Philippine allies,' officials at Camp Pendleton, California, said in a statement. Officials said the cause of the crash was under investigation.
Three defense contractors were also killed in the crash, military officials have said.
The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines confirmed the crash of a light plane in Maguindanao del Sur province. The bodies of the four people were retrieved from the wreckage in Ampatuan town, said Ameer Jehad Tim Ambolodto, a safety officer of Maguindanao del Sur.
U.S. forces have been deployed in a Philippine military camp in the country's south for decades to help provide training and advice to Filipino forces battling Muslim militants. The region is home to minority Muslims in the largely Roman Catholic nation.
Windy Beaty, a provincial disaster-mitigation officer, told The Associated Press on Thursday that she received reports that residents saw smoke coming from the plane and heard an explosion before the aircraft plummeted to the ground about half a mile from a cluster of farmhouses.
Durham was trained as an electronic intelligence/electromagnetic warfare analyst assigned to 1st Radio Battalion, I Marine Expeditionary Force Information Group, officials said. He joined the Marines in January 2021 and was promoted to his current rank on Feb. 1.
Durham's awards include the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, a Meritorious Mast, and Naval Aircrew Insignia, officials said.
'Sgt. Durham embodied the highest traditions of the Marine Corps — exemplifying composure, intelligence, and selfless leadership,' Lt. Col. Mabel B. Annunziata, commanding officer of 1st Radio Battalion, said in the statement. 'He was deeply respected and loved by his fellow Marines.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Daily Mail
Islam increases its share of the global population as the world's fastest-growing religion and Christianity slips, study shows
Islam is growing faster than any other religion in the world, according to a new study. Muslims now make up 25.6 per cent of the global population, while Christians make up 28.8 per cent, the report - which was released by the Pew Research Center on Monday - says. But the growth of Christianity has not kept up with the global population increase, with the religion's worldwide share slipping by 1.8 per cent. This fall-off is largely driven by disaffiliation, as well as aging populations and lower fertility rates. The Muslim population's share, on the other hand, increased by 1.8 per cent. Researchers said reasons for this growth was likely due to Islam's younger population and higher birthrates in some areas. Commenting on the trend, lead author of the Pew report, Conrad Hackett, said: 'It's just striking that there was such dramatic change in a 10-year period. 'During this time, the Muslim and Christian populations grew closer in size. Muslims grew faster than any other religion.' In addition, the study found that the largest share of Christians, which is about 31 per cent, can be found in sub-Saharan Africa, as opposed to Europe which has historically been home to the largest number of Christians in the world. At the same time, large numbers of former Christians are now falling into the unaffiliated category, which includes atheists, agnostics and people who simply don't identify with any religion. This is now the third largest religious category globally at 24.2 per cent, which shows a rise from 16 per cent a decade ago. 'Among young adults, for every person around the world who becomes Christian, there are three people who are raised Christian who leave', Hackett said. The study also found the number of Buddhists to have plunged, dropping to 4.1 per cent. Pew cites a low birth rate and rising disaffiliation in East Asia. Hinduism remained steady at 1.49 per cent, while Judaism, making up just 0.2 per cent of the global population, also fell behind the global growth rate. The study looked at more than 2.700 censuses and survey across 201 countries and territories, covering nearly the entire global population.
BBC News
a day ago
- BBC News
Sunderland council still reviewing Chester Road scheme feedback
Feedback on plans for a bus lane is still being reviewed, three months after a consultation on the scheme proposals, for Sunderland's Chester Road, include creating a bus lane towards the roundabout at the junction with Springwell Road and Holborn Road, instead of previously mooted traffic is part of the regional Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP), funded by the government.A council leaflet detailing the scheme said works were expected to start in the summer and would take about a year. A public consultation on the proposals closed on 5 March and Sunderland City Council said feedback was being reviewed. It has not confirmed when the review will be proposals also includecarriageway widening to allow bus priority and a free-flow bus lane through the A183 Greenwood Road roundaboutchanges to road markings at Hastings Hill Roundabout and the Grindon Lane junctionintroducing signals at existing roundabouts at Hastings Hill and Greenwood Road junctionsThe BSIP aims to improve bus journey have also been developed for the A690 Durham Lindsey Leonard, cabinet member for environment, transport and net zero said: "The proposals for A183 Chester Road have been subject to consultation with residents and other stakeholders and we are currently reviewing the feedback."Once this evaluation process is complete, we will update all interested parties with the outcome and next steps." Previous plans for traffic lights at the roundabout at Chester Road, Springwell Road and Holborn Road were not included in the final proposals after modelling showed introducing them would increase move was criticised by local residents and opposition councillors, who said a bus lane would make traffic worse. Follow BBC Sunderland on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
NBC News
4 days ago
- NBC News
A mournful Eid al-Adha in Gaza
Under the damaged dome of al-Albani Mosque in Khan Younis, families stood on broken stone and dust, raising their voices in takbir, the declaration of god's greatness, to mark the first morning of Eid al-Adha on Friday. In Gaza, the holiest of the two major Muslim holidays is traditionally a time for communal worship, the sacrifice of lambs, and shared meals. Families gather around piles of bread baked on the saj and morsels of liver fresh from the slaughter. But this year in Khan Younis, there was no feast. No lambs to sacrifice. No smell of meat cooking, no joyful reunions. The celebration, stripped of its customs, pressed on in grief. 'We don't eat meat, we don't eat liver, we are not happy like other times waiting for the Eid with joy,' Eftarag Abou Sabaa told NBC News' team in Khan Younis. Rather than the ritual sacrifice of a lamb, Abou Sabaa said, 'We sacrifice the blood of martyrs. We sacrifice our sons, our daughters, and our mothers; we sacrifice ourselves in a way that sets us apart from other people.' That morning, crowds moved quietly to the Khan Younis cemetery to visit loved ones lost to the war, and greeted each other by the tombstones of children, parents, and friends. Only the buzz of Israeli drones overhead filled the solemn silence. 'This is not an Eid of joy; it is an Eid of mourning and death,' Ahmed Darwish, displaced from Rafah to west Khan Younis, told NBC News as he stood beside the graves. 'Our children and women are in pieces. Instead of sacrificing animals, we collected body parts this morning.' On Eid, Israeli strikes continued as families wept by the bodies of their loved ones, killed before celebrations could begin. Reda Abdel Rahim Eljara told an NBC News team that Israeli air strikes had already killed her husband and one of her sons. On the first day of Eid al-Adha, she lost two more sons and her daughter-in-law. "Three months ago, on Eid al-Fitr, my son Qais got married," she told NBC News. "Today, on the main Eid, he is martyred with his wife." Umm Ahmad Al-Qatati said her son, Omar, 11, was shot as he left his tent to shower and get ready for a visit to see his father. 'He was so excited for Eid morning, but they sent him to the morgue instead,' she said. "Instead of celebrating Eid, he went to be with his Lord." Those for whom death had not come, trudged forward. At the ruins of al-Albani Mosque, Thaer al-Salmi, 14, continued to pray. "We try to find some joy by praying and wearing a few clothes to feel the Eid spirit," he said. 'I hope this war ends, and that next Eid will be like it was two years ago — a real celebration without war.'
