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Sunday, December 18, 2005
Police eye political feud in vice mayor's ambush
By Al Jacinto
ZAMBOANGA CITY -- Police suspect feud as the motive behind the ambush of a town vice mayor and two others in Zamboanga del Sur province in the southern Philippines.
Gunmen ambushed a convoy of government vehicles in the town of Dinas late Thursday, killing Vice Mayor Mujahid Andi and two others.
The attack also left three others wounded, police said, adding, the ambush was probably connected to a longtime political feud between Andi and his opponents in the province.
Police 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.
Andi and Maulana were political allies.
Last month, a failed mayoral candidate, Satok Lao, was shot and killed outside his home in Dinas town. Lao was a known political rival of the Maulanas.
Police said Andi was with the convoy of Dinas town mayor Wilfredo Asoy, who was also shot at, but he escaped unhurt.
The group came from a meeting in Pitogo town and was returning home in separate vehicles when gunmen attacked them around 11:30 p.m. on the village of Sambulawan.
No groups owned up to the killing, but bandits and rebels are known to actively operate in the province.
A regional military commander Major General Gabriel Habacon said they were helping the police track the ambushers, but there have been no arrest made since the authorities launched a massive manhunt.
"There is an ongoing joint operation and we are helping the police hunt down the attackers," he said. (Sunnex)
(December 18, 2005 issue)
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