Marines killed in Tawi-Tawi Province

TAWI-TAWI, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / January 2, 2009) - Unidentified gunman shot dead a government soldier in an attack in the southern Philippine province of Tawi-Tawi, police said.

Police said the attack occurred in Bonggao town as locals were celebrating the New Year. It identified the soldier as Corporal Raul Rivera, a member of the Marine Battalion Landing Team II. The soldier was found dead in the village of Pahut.

The town's acting police chief, Inspector Jackyll Bilibli, said the soldier was shot with a .45-caliber pistol. "We still don't know the motive of the attack or who was behind it," he said. (Amilbahar Mawallil and Shane Sulaiman)