ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Aug. 11, 2012) – Gunmen killed a pregnant woman and a trader in separate attacks in Sulu province in the southern Philippines, military authorities said.
It said the woman, Masina Maharani, 40, was shot in the head by a gunman who barged in her house in the village of Bangkal in Patikul town. The victim was alone in the house when the gunman attacked.
Maharani, who was four months pregnant, died on the spot. She was shot with a .45-caliber pistol, a military report said. The motive of the attack is still unknown, it said.
In the capital town of Jolo, gunman also killed Cris Yap in an attack late Friday in the village called Bus-bus. Yap was heading home after attending a church service by the Iglesia ni Cristo when two motorcycle gunmen blocked his path and shot him with a pistol.
Villagers rushed Yap to the hospital where he died from multiple gunshot wounds.
Yap owns a small store in downtown Jolo and authorities said prior to the killing, suspected Abu Sayyaf militants were demanding money from the victim. And last month, Yap was threatened by an unidentified man whom he had an argument inside his store.
No individual or group claimed responsibility for the attacks. Police did not give any statement about the two killings. (Mindanao Examiner)
20