ZAMBOANGA CITY (Zamboanga Journal / 03 Apr) A town mayor and four of his aides were wounded when gunmen ambushed them in the province of Lanao del Sur in the southern Philippines, officials said Monday.
Officials said gunmen opened fire on a car carrying Mayor Noaim Dipatuan of Bacolod-Kalawi town, near his home, wounding him and four of companions late Saturday. The attacker fled after the attack, Brig. Gen. Mohammad bin Dolorfino, deputy commander of the Southern Command, told the Zamboanga Journal.
The mayor's group was returning to his house from a prayer at a mosque in the town's center when gunmen attacked them with automatic weapons, he said.
"The mayor and his four companions are wounded in the ambush. Authorities are investigating the attack, but initial reports suggested the ambush could be politically motivated," he said without further elaborating.
But other reports tagged an alleged cousin of the mayor, who is his strong political rival, as behind the ambush.
Troops were sent to the town Monday after unidentified armed groups have threatened to attack and torch houses in Bacolod-Kalawi for still unknown reasons.
"We have deployed soldiers in the area. There is a threat to burn the houses in the town and we are trying to secure the civilians here," Dolorfino said.
Local elections are due next year and poll violence are common in the troubled southern region, where illegal weapons are readily available from gun syndicates and rebel groups operating in the province, one of five under the Muslim autonomous region.
No comments:
Post a Comment