ILIGAN CITY – Unidentified assailants on Tuesday shot dead two army soldiers assisting in the investigation into the ambush of a television news crew in the volatile city of Marawi in Lanao del Sur province in the Muslim autonomous region.
The duo – Sergeant John Saballe and Private First Class Sofronio Grame, Jr – from the 65th Infantry Battalion were killed outside the Ranao Broadcasting Corporation near the Masjid Islamic Center.
The soldiers were supposed to meet a civilian informant when they were attacked in the busy market area of Pangarungan village. A woman near the scene was also shot and wounded and was rushed to the Amai Pakpak Medical Center.
Colonel Roseller Murillo, commander of the 103rd Infantry Brigade, confirmed the murder of the soldiers and said the duo was on an official mission in Marawi City in connection to the ongoing investigation into the attack on the news team of ABS-CBN just recently.
Murillo said the soldiers were supposed to meet an informant. It was unknown if the attack was caught on security cameras outside the Ranao Broadcasting Corporation.
Lanao del Sur Governor Mamintal Adiong Jr said he was saddened by the latest attack and urged authorities to speed up investigation into the spate of violence in Marawi.
“We are deeply saddened by yet another brutal murder committed in Marawi City by unidentified men. We sympathize with the families of two victims, who were just performing their duties as public servants by ensuring peace and order in a place far away from their homes during this holiday season.”
“We also heard that an innocent female bystander was hit by a bullet during the incident and is now fighting for her life. Whatever reason there is behind these senseless killings happening in our province, it can never be acceptable,” Adiong said.
Adiong appealed to the Aquino government to look into the series of killings in Marawi and his province and also urged for the reactivation of the special anti-crime task force to solve the atrocities in Lanao del Sur.
“We are also appealing to the national government to really look into all these hostilities happening in our province for the sake and the safety of each and every one living here. We specifically ask Department of the Interior and Local Government, Philippine National Police and the Department of National Defense to immediately revive Joint Task Force Ranao, a special anti-crime task force that was formed to resolve all sorts of crimes committed in Lanao del Sur. We condemn these brutal acts and we need to put an end to all this madness as soon as possible,” Adiong said.
The killings of the soldiers succeeded the slay try on the news team led by Ronnie Enderes, Emilito Balansag and Gary Montecillo who just came from the town of Ditsa Ramain where they pursued a story on the spate of bombings of power lines in the province.
They were travelling back to Marawi City when gunmen attacked them on Bangolo Street. The trio survived the ambush after escaping their attackers who were on three motorcycles and then drove themselves to an army base where they sought refuge.
Troops from the 65th Infantry Battalion escorted the news team to Iligan City after they sought refuge to the army base following the attack. The motive and the perpetrators of the attack are still being investigated, although there were reports that a radicalized group sympathetic to ISIS were behind the assault on the news crew.
The military and police are also looking into the possible involvement of radical jihadists Khilafah Islamiyah Movement, locally known as “Ghuraba” (Stranger) into the attacks and other atrocities in Lanao del Sur and other areas in Northern Mindanao. (Moh Saaduddin)
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