DAVAO CITY – One person was killed after gunmen attacked Monday the pickup truck of a lawmaker from the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao while in Davao City in southern Philippines, police said.
Police said Assemblyman Sidik Amiril (Maguindanao Province) and his 3 other companions were unhurt from the attack inside their bullet-proof truck, but his aide, Berry Adas, who was riding at the back of the vehicle died from the shooting.
The attackers, armed with automatic weapons, escaped in their vehicles – a sports utility van and a motorcycle, after the shooting which occurred along Chico Street in Buhangin district. The ambushers apparently did not know the truck was bullet-proof.
Amiril did not give any statement, but police identified his companions as Moktar Adam, Kaharudin Manda and Jastipy Mamadras.
No individual or group claimed responsibility for the ambush, but authorities had previously linked the lawmaker to the alleged illegal drugs trade in Mindanao. And last year, members of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, raided his home in Cotabato City.
The attack on Amiril came hours after a sniper fire killed Mayor Antonio Halili, of Tanauan City in Batangas province during the flag raising ceremony at City Hall. The mayor was allegedly involved in illegal drugs trade in Batangas, according to government intelligence reports, which Halili previously denied. (Mindanao Examiner)
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