ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / August 23, 2008) – Five security escorts of a southern Philippine town deputy mayor were killed after policemen manning a checkpoint opened fire on their convoy, reports said Saturday.
The shooting occurred Friday near a village called Santo Nino in Turukan town in Zamboanga del Sur province. The deputy mayor of Labangan Wilson Nadang who was in the convoy was unhurt in the shooting.
Nadang said his group was ambushed, but a police report claimed the politician’s convoy did not stop at the checkpoint prompting the security forces to open fire on the unidentified vehicles.
“One army soldier, from the First Infantry Division, who was escorting the politician, was among those killed. There is an ongoing investigation into the incident,” Maj. Eugene Batara, a regional army spokesman, told the Mindanao Examiner.
Aside from the slain soldier, policemen were also escorting the politician, but it was not immediately known if any of them were killed or injured in the shooting.
Lt. Gen. Nehemias Pajarito, commander of the First Infantry Division, and his deputy Brig. Jovencio Magalso, did not give any statement about the incident and had ignored repeated telephone calls from journalists. (Mindanao Examiner)
No comments:
Post a Comment