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Saturday, December 17, 2005
Vice mayor, 2 others killed in ambush
By Al Jacinto
ZAMBOANGA CITY -- Police and military forces have mounted a joint operation to track down a group of gunmen who killed three people, including a town vice mayor, in an ambush in the southern Philippines, officials said.
Gunmen opened fire on a convoy of government vehicles in the town of Dinas, in Zamboanga del Sur Province, late Thursday, killing Vice Mayor Mujahid Andi and his two companions.
The attack also left three others wounded, officials said.
Police said Andi was with the convoy of Dinas Mayor Wilfredo Asoy, who also came under fire. He escaped unhurt. The group came from Pitogo town and was returning home when gunmen attacked them around 11.30 p.m. on the village of Sambulawan.
The motive of attack was unknown and police and military forces are still investigating the ambush. No groups owned up to the killing, but bandits and rebels are known to actively operate in the province.
"We have mounted a pursuit operation and soldiers are helping police forces track down the ambushers," said Major General Gabriel Habacon, commander of the Army's First Infantry Division in the province.
Police and military officials said it was the second attack on a government official in Dinas this year. In July, gunmen killed then the town's vice mayor Abdul Maulana and five of his guards in an ambush by suspected rebels. (Sun.Star Zamboanga/Sunnex)
(December 17, 2005 issue)
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