2 more Malaysian police killed amid siege

MALAYSIAN police said two members of their security forces were killed in an ambush in the village of Jaya Siminul, Semporna in Sabah on Saturday evening, according to the state media.

Sabah Police Chief Hamza Taib told Malaysia's TV3 station on Sunday that the policemen were killed in an ambush by unidentified suspects. Authorities were investigating whether it was connected to the siege in Lahad Datu.

In a tweet by the Malaysian National News Agency @bernamadotcom: Police are investigating whether the latest case of the death of two more members have links with militant invaders from Southern Philippines.

Police Inspector General Tan Sri Ismail Omar also said the attack happened around 8 p.m. in an area in Jaya Siminul, Semporna 150 kilometers from Lahad, Datu.

It was believed that members of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III were behind the attack.

Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Hamza Taib, meanwhile, said they are already drawing up plans with the Malaysian military for an assault over the camp of the Filipino-Muslims in Lahad Datu.

Earlier, President Benigno Aquino III said to the remaining Kiram followers in Sabah, Malaysia to surrender.

He said they should surrender without any conditions for the peaceful resolution of the standoff.

"To our citizens in Lahad Datu, from the very start our objective has been to avoid the loss of lives and the shedding of blood. However, you did not join us in this objective. Because of the path you have taken, what we have been trying to avoid has come to pass,” Aquino said.
Sabah on Borneo Island is a short boat ride from the southern Philippines' restive provinces. (AP/Sunnex)