ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Sept. 22, 2012) – At least 3 people were killed and six others wounded in an attack by Abu Sayyaf gunmen in the troubled southern Philippine province of Basilan, officials said Saturday.
Officials said among those killed and wounded were government militias and workers of a rubber farm cooperative in Sumisip town. Initial army reports identified some of the attackers as Ahmad Aliman, Umair Wakil, Akbar Tampuri and Madi Umangkat.
Capt. Albert Caber, a spokesman for the 1st Infantry Division, said the gunmen opened fire on the victims who were heading home on their motorcycle in the village of Sapah Bulak.
Caber, who quoted a report from Col. Carlito Glavez, Jr., commander of the 104th Infantry Brigade in Basilan, told the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner that the victims just attended a forum with nongovernmental organizations, religious leaders and representatives of the Cooperative Development Authority.
He said the rebels had previously attacked workers at the Tumahubong Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Integrated Development Cooperative Inc.
Maj. Gen. Ricardo Rainier Cruz III, the regional army commander, ordered troops to help the local police force run after the rebels, who are largely blamed by the police and military to the spate of terrorism and kidnappings in Basilan, one of five provinces under the Muslim autonomous region.
“We are saddened by the death of civilians and unarmed government militias. Our operations still continue against the Abu Sayyaf in Basilan,” he said.
Just this week, Abu Sayyaf rebels also attacked an army detachment in Sumisip’s Upper Cabengbeng village. The rebels, headed by Commander Botong, attacked the post sparking a fire fight, but there were no reports of casualties. (Mindanao Examiner)
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