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Sunday, January 08, 2006
Sulu village chief killed in attack, 2 others wounded
ZAMBOANGA CITY -- Unidentified gunmen shot dead a village chieftain and wounded his two companions in an attack in the southern Philippine island of Jolo, site of an upcoming joint RP-US anti-terrorism training, police said on Saturday.
Police said the gunmen opened fire on the group of Akaraa Asara, the village chieftain of Kalgay in Talipao town, Sulu Province, killing him instantly. His two companions were also hit and wounded in the attack that occurred late Friday afternoon in the town of Jolo, it said.
It said the victims were traveling on a jeep when the gunmen, who were on another vehicle, attacked them around 5.30 p.m. Policemen in the area pursued the attackers, but they managed to escape.
Police said they are still investigating the motive of the killing. "We still don't know the motive or who were behind the attack, or whether it was the Abu Sayyaf or a vendetta killing," a police investigator said.
American and Filipino troops are to begin a three-week joint anti-terror training exercise next month in Jolo Island, a known stronghold of Abu Sayyaf militants, whose group is tied to al-Qaeda terror network.
It was unknown if the killing was connected to the Abu Sayyaf, but the group has previously attacked village officials and civilians on suspicion they were aiding the military in anti-insurgency operation on the island.
Washington listed the Abu Sayyaf, blamed by Manila to the spate of killings and bombings in the strife-torn region, as a foreign terrorist organization and offered as much as $5 million dollars bounty for the group's known leaders. (Al Jacinto/Sunnex)
(January 8, 2006 issue)
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