COTABATO CITY – The Philippine Army said 2 soldiers who were ambushed in the southern Cotabato City survived the attack, although seriously wounded.
The 6th Infantry Division said the duo Private First Class Nerwin Delfin and Michael Haudar, who are members of the 37th Infantry Battalion, were attacked Friday while travelling on a motorcycle along Sinsuat Avenue. Delfin is in critical condition and other reports said he died in the hospital.
Their unit is deployed in Maguindanao province. Witnesses said motorcycle gunmen attacked the duo without warning. The ambush occurred despite an extended martial law in the troubled region. But gun attacks here are not uncommon.
Photos of the soldiers slumped on the road were circulated on Facebook. The clarification of the army came out late and after media reports, quoting various sources, claimed the two soldiers were slain in the attack.
It was unknown if the killings were perpetrated by rebels or pro-ISIS militants fighting for a separate state in Mindanao where President Rodrigo Duterte imposed martial law since last year following a deadly siege by militants in Marawi City.
The murders occurred ahead of the referendum next month of the controversial Bangsamoro Organic Law which. If ratified, it would replace the current Muslim autonomous region and would be ruled by the rebel group Moro Islamic Liberation Front which signed an interim peace deal with Manila in 2014. (With a report from Rhoderick Beñez.)
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