U.S. to Return Two Philippine Church Bells Seized a Century Ago
- Church bells seized by American soldiers in 1901 as war booty
- Previous efforts to return bells have been blocked in the U.S.
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The U.S. will return a set of church bells to the Philippines seized as war booty by American soldiers more than a century ago as it looks to mend ties with firebrand President Rodrigo Duterte.
U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis last week told Congress of the plan to return the bells, which were seized from the burned-out belfry of a church following a 1901 attack by Filipino independence fighters that killed 54 American soldiers, a Pentagon spokesman said.