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Monday, July 18, 2005
Vice mayor, 5 others killed in ambush
By Al Jacinto and Ramil Bangues
PAGADIAN CITY -- A southern Philippine town vice mayor and five of his bodyguards were killed after gunmen attacked them around 3 p.m. Sunday in Zamboanga del Sur province. Two others were seriously injured in the attack, the military said.
Officials said Dinas Vice Mayor Abdulbasit Maulana was killed along with his bodyguards identified as Nasser Maulana, Nasser Lumabo, Udok Donde, and Jamail Abbas, in the coastal village of Tarakan, where they were waylaid by armed men.
One of the vice mayor's bodyguards, identified as Imbang Ibrahim, was rushed to a hospital but died on the way there.
Two of Maulana's other bodyguards were also wounded, said Major General Gabriel Habacon, commander of the Army's 1st Infantry Division. They were identified as Uyok Pua and Ukol Yusop. "The vice mayor and his bodyguards were killed in the ambush. Troops were sent to the town to pursue the attackers," General Habacon said.
The authorities said the bodies of the slain victims were immediately recovered by their relatives.
Reports reaching Pagadian City said that prior to the incident, Vice Mayor Maulana received a report that pirates destroyed with explosives a fish pen in the coastal village of Tarakan.
Maulana and his bodyguards rushed to the area on board an Isuzu pick-up vehicle. It appeared that no such explosion occurred in the area, and that the report was a hoax intended to trap the vice mayor into the planned ambush.
At least three teams from the 907th Mobile Group were dispatched to the area.
Superintendent Karib Muamil, provincial police chief, also rushed to the area to lead police operations against the armed men. Elements from the 51st Infantry Battalion were also deployed to the conflict area.
Maulana's group battled it out with government security forces for about 25 minutes, police said.
The authorities are looking into the angle of "family feud" as the motive in the ambush.
Military intelligence reports have tagged Camel Lao, a pirate leader, as allegedly behind the attack. Lao's brother Rumano was killed by security forces in a fierce firefight earlier this year, General Habacon said.
He said security forces have put up a temporary detachment in the village while the operation is going on.
Villagers have complained about the rampant extortion activities and harassments by pirates and bandits in the area.
Government troops have intensified their patrol activities in the province, but the attacks usually occur in areas where there are no government security forces. (Sunnex)
(July 18, 2005 issue)
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