MAGUINDANAO – Three people were killed in an ambush in the troubled Maguindanao province in the Muslim autonomous region in southern Philippines, officials said on Saturday.
Officials said the victims – two men and a woman – were travelling in a car when motorcycle gunmen ambushed them late on Friday near Pendililang Elementary School in the village of Lower Salbu in Datu Saudi Ampatuan town.
The assailants escaped after the attack, according to Capt. Jo-ann Petinglay, a spokeswoman for the 6th Infantry Division.
She said army soldiers and policemen responded to the gunfire, but did not catch up with the ambushers.
“It was too late and security forces did not catch up with the attackers. All three victims, who are still unidentified, were killed in the attack. They sustained gunshot wounds in the different parts of their bodies,” Petinglay told the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.
She said trio did not carry any identification papers, except for the car’s registration, whose owner was traced in Davao City. She said the car license plate is TEM 896 and that they have shared the information to the police in Davao City.
The motive of the attack is unknown, but gun attacks are not uncommon in Maguindanao where rebels and private armies are actively operating. (Mindanao Examiner)
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