MAGUINDANAO – A series of rocket attacks that target a powerful political clan has wounded a civilian in the restive province of Maguindanao in the Muslim autonomous region in southern Philippines, officials told The Manila Times on Tuesday.
Officials said the rockets exploded at the back of the house of Akmad Ampatuan, a former mayor of Datu Salibo town; and his son Maroph, the acting mayor of Shariff Aguak town, the clan’s stronghold.
The clan’s patriarch Andal Ampatuan and his sons and other family members are facing multiple murder charges after being implicated in the massacre of 58 people, including 32 journalists and media workers in Maguindanao on 2009.
The attack on the mayor and his father was believed connected to politics after both politicians had turned their back on the Ampatuan patriarch.
The wounded civilian, Ali Dimaludin, was rushed to hospital after being hit by shrapnel from the recent attacks.
Officials, citing intelligence reports, have tagged Tamano Mamalapat, a former rebel commander of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which signed a peace accord with Manila last year.
Just last month, gunmen also ambushed Akmad’s convoy and wounding him and two of his bodyguards in Guindulungan town, also in Maguindanao.
Ampatuan’s convoy was heading to Shariff Aguak when gunmen attacked the politician’s vehicle. No individual or group claimed responsibility for the attack, but Maguindanao has been the center of violence in recent months following a spate of gun attacks and killings perpetrated by rebels and armed groups actively operating in the troubled province.
Also in December, an unidentified assailant also fired a rifle grenade on the mansion of Shariff Aguak Mayor Zahara Upam Ampatuan, who was recently implicated in the massacre. Zahara has denied the charges against her, but has gone into hiding because of threats to her life.
The attack on Zahara’s mansion caused little damage as the grenade exploded on the sprawling compound. (Mindanao Examiner)
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