|
Saturday, July 15, 2006
3 killed in Zambo port shootout
By Al Jacinto
ZAMBOANGA CITY -- Two maritime policemen and a suspected Abu Sayyaf militant were killed Friday in a firefight inside the busy port of Zambonga City in the southern Philippines, officials said.
Officials said a port security guard was also wounded in the gun battle that erupted around 6.30 a.m. after policemen stopped the man for a body inspection. They found in the man's backpack a magazine for .45-caliber pistol.
"The man quickly pulled a pistol from under his shirt and shot the two policemen and one of our security guards. The assailant was later killed," said Chief Inspector Francisco Clavecillas, the port police chief.
He said aside from the magazine, they also recovered a Qur'an with Arabic text in the man's backpack.
"The man was well trained to handle his gun. He was quick and really trained to kill. He was a determined assassin and we suspect that he was a member of the Abu Sayyaf terrorist group," Clavecillas said, adding that the man did not have identification cards. "Investigations are still going on to determine his identity," he said.
Clavecillas said he ordered more security guards and policemen deployed in the port to thwart possible retaliation and to secure the safety of travelers. "We have deployed additional forces to secure the port and the travelers," he said.
International cargo and passenger ships from Manila pass by Zamboanga City en route to the southern Philippines and vice versa. Zamboanga has one of the busiest ports in the country, but the city had been previously bombed by the Abu Sayyaf and used by the group in the past as hideout and springboard for terror attacks in the restive region.
Washington listed the Abu Sayyaf as a foreign terrorist organization and offered as much as $5 million bounty for its top leaders, including Khadaffy Janjalani, believed to be the al-Qaeda contact in the Philippines. (Sun.Star Zamboanga/Sunnex)
(July 15, 2006 issue)
Write letter to the editor. Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board. Click here. |
|
|
|
[return to top]
[home]
|
|
Mutineer cuts ties with rebel soldiers