Rebels ambush 3 in southern Philippines

SULU, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 9, 2010) – Suspected Moro rebels killed three people on suspicion they were military spies in the southern Philippine province of Sulu, police said Friday.

Police said the rebels ambushed the trio on Thursday afternoon in the village of Bayog in Talipao town. Those killed were identified as Alvin Angeles, 36, Jayson Paah, 29, both natives of Zamboanga City, and a local villager Omar Birin, 30.

The three victims – riding on a motorcycle - were delivering t-shirts to a military camp in Talipao town when rebels ambushed them.

“We are still investigating this incident, but initial reports suggested that rebels were behind the ambush after suspecting that the victims were military intelligence agents,” said Chief Inspector Amil Baanan, of the Sulu provincial police force.

He said Angeles and Paah operated a small souvenir and arts shop inside the 3rd Marine Brigade headquarters in the capital town of Jolo.

The bodies of the two men arrived on a military helicopter in Zamboanga City on Friday. Their families appealed to authorities to give justice to the killings.

Security forces have been fighting Moro rebels who are opposing infrastructure projects being carried out by military engineers near their bases in Sulu, one of five provinces under the Muslim autonomous region. (Mindanao Examiner)