An Iowa native killed this week in the Philippines was not part of the increasing American military action there. Brian Smith, who was originally from Grinnell, was hiking up Mount Pinatubo with a friend when he was shot and killed Wednesday. His cousin, Bill Smith, is making funeral arrangements in Grinnell.It’s a crater that many tourists visit, and during an ambush Brian was shot in the back and killed; his companion wounded. The military’s reportedly stepped up security after the attack that killed Smith. Bill Smith has been told there are a couple of ideas about who may have been behind the shooting of his cousin, who was on a tourism expedition.The attack on civilians coincided with the start of a joint Philippine/U-S military crackdown there on Muslim extremists. Brian’s body is being returned to Iowa for a funeral, and cousins Bill and Jim Smith are making burial arrangements in Grinnell.
