BASILAN (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 24, 2014) – Three people were killed in ambush in the troubled province of Basilan in the Muslim autonomous region in southern Philippines, an army spokesman said.
Capt. Jefferson Mamauag, of the 1st Infantry Division, said the jeep was travelling in the village of Bohe Baca in Tipo-Tipo town when gunmen attacked the vehicle with automatic weapons.
He said one passenger was also wounded in the ambush believed to be connected to a clan war. Those killed in the attack have been identified as Amir Saribin, 21; Halim Randa, 18 ; and Hadji Alih Ibrahim, 38; and the wounded passenger as Haber Cuevas, 25.
Mamauag, quoting a report from Lt. Col. Cristobal Julian Paolo Perez, commander of the 18th Infantry Battalion, said the jeep – owned by Hakim Tahil – was heading to Lamitan City when the attackers opened fire on the passengers.
“Rido is likely motive of the attack,” Perez said.
Rido is the local term for clan war or family feud, which is not uncommon in Basilan, just several nautical miles south of Zamboanga City.
Perez said troops retrieved the corpses in the area after they cleared the village and handed them over to their respective families. Authorities are investigating the attack to determine who were behind the ambush. (Mindanao Examiner)
20