4 abducted and feared killed near Zambo town

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Jan. 31, 2009) – Government troops were deployed in the outskirts of Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines to help search for four people abducted and feared killed by unidentified gunmen, officials said Saturday.

Officials said the a 16-year old villager, Mark Endido, who was shot and wounded by the gunmen managed to escape to tell authorities what happened to them. Among those missing was father, Benjamin, and three neighbors – all from the Curuan district, east of Zamboanga City.

Endido said the incident occurred on Wednesday and reported the incident the next day after seeking help from authorities in Curuan where he was treated for gunshot wound.

He told reporters they were panning for gold in the village of Lakiki in Sibuco town near the boundary of Curuan district when 15 armed men seized them. He said they were tied and herded, but he managed to flee and that gunmen opened fire and hit him on the shoulder.

He said he heard automatic gunfire and that those who were left behind were probably executed. Endido, who is now being guarded at a hospital in Zamboanga City, appealed to the authorities to recover the bodies of his father and neighbors Josel dela Cruz, Audy Valiente and Jonas Valiente.

“We have sent soldiers in the area to search for the missing villagers. We are closely coordinating with the police in the area,” said Army Col. Santiago Baluyot, commander of an anti-terror task force in Zamboanga City.

The military’s Western Mindanao Command in Zamboanga City said the search for the missing men began on Friday after it received reports about the incident.

“We are awaiting reports, but there are soldiers in the area conducting search and rescue operation,” said Lt. Steffani Cacho, a regional military spokeswoman.

The motive of the attack is still unknown, but officials said it could have been connected to gold panning activities in the area. Moro rebels are also actively operating in the province.

Early this week, Moro rebels torched a dump truck owned by Bendimil Construction in the village of Jatian in Sibuco town after the firm failed to pay extortion money.

It was the second attack this month, on January 16, rebels also torched a backhoe owned by ESR Construction in the village of Malabuhanginan in Siocon town, also in Zamboanga del Norte province. (Mindanao Examiner)

Mayor's Bodyguard Killed After Attacking Soldier At Checkpoint

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 27, 2008) – A bodyguard of a southern Philippine town mayor was killed after he attacked and shot a government soldier at a checkpoint in Zamboanga City.

Police said soldiers were manning the checkpoint when they stopped a man who was carrying a pistol before dawn Saturday. The man, identified as Hajan Abubakar, fought off the soldiers who tried to arrest him.

Abubakar, an alleged bodyguard of Sibuco town Mayor Norbi Edding, drew his gun and shot one soldier. Abubakar, who earlier harassed innocent civilian, was later killed by soldiers.

Police and military have imposed a total gun ban in Zamboanga City since last year because of the spate of killings and criminalities. (Mindanao Examiner)

Police Patrol Ambush In Zamboanga Town

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Jan. 30, 2008) – Suspected Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels attacked Wednesday a Philippine police patrol, wounding four, on a farming village in the southern province of Zamboanga del Norte, officials said.

Officials said the attacked occurred before dawn near a village called Lakiki in Sibuco town, a known MILF stronghold west of Mindanao island. The attack on police forces sparked a running gun battle in the area.

Troops from the Army’s 44th Infantry Battalion on a nearby village were sent to pursue the attackers, but gunmen split into smaller groups and fled to the hinterlands.

“We received reports that several gunmen were wounded in the fighting and troops were sent to pursue the attackers,” Major Eugene Batara, a regional army spokesman, told the Mindanao Examiner.

No group claimed responsibility for the attack, but the local police blamed the MILF for the ambush. The motive of the attack is still unknown, but rebels have previously assaulted security forces patrolling near their camps.

The MILF, which has been fighting the government for almost four decades for a separate Muslim homeland in Mindanao, is currently negotiating peace with Manila. (With a report from Ely Dumaboc)

Troops Hunt Bandits Behind Killing Of 2 Kidnapped Traders In Southern Philippines

ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 05 Jan) – Government soldiers were hunting down a group of bandits behind the gruesome murder of two kidnapped traders in the southern Philippine province of Zamboanga del Norte, officials said Friday.

Officials said the two men, seized last week, were beheaded. The bodies were discovered by patrolling soldiers two days ago on a remote village in Sibuco town.

The motive of the killing was unknown, although the police and military suspect the victims may have been executed after they failed to pay ransom money. There were no immediate statements from the victims' families.

Officials said no individual or group claimed responsibility for the grizzly murder, but the police tagged a former commander of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front-turned-bandit leader Majid Abdulhaman as responsible for the killings.

“There is an operation in the town,” said Major Eugene Batarra, a regional army spokesman. Aside from bandits, MILF rebels and Abu Sayyaf militants, whose group is tied to al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiya, are actively operating in the area. (Mindanao Examiner)