PAGADIAN CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Mar. 30, 2013) – Government troops killed a notorious leader of gang tagged as behind the spate of kidnappings and extortion in the southern Philippines, officials said Saturday.
Officials said the fighting in the coastal village of Danganan in Lapuyan town killed Amie Andi and his aide Ambak Maragusan.
Lt. Col. Yegor Rey Barroquillo, Jr., commander of the 44th Infantry Battalion, said the fighting lasted almost 30 minutes. The bodies of the slain bandits were recovered by their kin and buried immediately in the town.
He said Andi is one of the most wanted persons in Zamboanga del Sur and that his group was previously involved in the killings of 6 people, including three children, in the village of Tininghalang also in Lapuyan town last year. The local government offered a P300,000 bounty for the capture of Andi.
General Ricardo Rainier Cruz II, commander of the 1st Infantry Division, commended the soldiers in the operation that led to Andi’s death. “The soldiers will remain vigilant against lawless elements to ensure the safety and well-being of the peace-loving people in the region,” he said.
He also praised the cooperation of civilians to the military, saying the locals provided vital information that allowed troops to track down and neutralize Andi.
In November last year, Andi escaped a raid by government soldiers at their hideout in Pagadian City, but troops captured two of his most trusted lieutenants, Montasser Ratarta and Rachmodin Andi.
The military said Andi’s group was behind the kidnappings of Filipino traders and foreigners in Zamboanga Peninsula. Among those kidnapped in the Zamboanga was Irish missionary Michael Sinnott, seized in October 12, 2009 in Pagadian City. Aside from Sinnott, kidnappers also seized Italian Catholic priest Giancarlo Bossi in Zamboanga del Sur’s Payao town in June 10, 2007.
And in 1998, gunmen kidnapped Italian missioners Luciano Benedetti in Zamboanga del Norte province and in 1998 and Giuseppe Pierantoni in Dimataling town in Zamboanga del Sur. It was not immediately known whether Andi was also involved in those kidnappings. (Mindanao Examiner)
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