Thursday, June 15, 2023

2 cops killed, 4 wounded in Maguindanao del Sur ambush

From Rappler (Jun 15, 2023): 2 cops killed, 4 wounded in Maguindanao del Sur ambush (By ROMMEL REBOLLIDO, FERDINANDH CABRERA)



The ambush is seen as a retaliatory attack following the killing of terrorist group Dawlah Islamiyah leader Abu Zacharia in Marawi

COTABATO CITY, Philippines – Two policemen were killed and four others were wounded in an ambush near the Maguindanao del Sur police headquarters in Shariff Aguak town.

The incident occurred as the officers were returning to the provincial headquarters camp on Wednesday evening, June 14, according to Brigadier General Allan Nobleza, the regional chief of the police in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

“The troops were about to return to the camp from a routine patrol they conducted in Shariff Aguak Poblacion when the ambush happened,” Nobleza said, confirming the incident that took place around 8:30 pm.

“It was followed by a short firefight,” he said.


The wounded personnel were rushed to a nearby provincial hospital.

The ambush occurred near the police’s provincial headquarters.

Nobleza identified the fatalities only as patrolmen Macacuna and Polayagan.

Wounded were Chief Master Sergeant Rey Vincent Gertos, Staff Sergeant Benjie de los Reyes, Patrolman Alib Abdulgapor, and Patrolman RJ Bal.

The police team belonged to the 2nd Provincial Mobile Force Company of the Maguindanao del Sur police.

The ambush immediately resulted in speculations that it was a retaliatory attack by the Dawlah Islamiyah following the killing of their leader, Abu Zacharia, in Marawi earlier that day.

Nobleza said, “We cannot say at this point who was behind this ambush. We are thoroughly investigating the incident.”

Investigators suspect that the terrorist group Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) orchestrated the ambush.

As a result, police, accompanied by Army soldiers, have launched a manhunt operation in the area to apprehend the assailants believed to be still in the vicinity.

It was not the first time an ambush has occurred targeting police cars in the area. In January 2018, a police car was struck by a roadside bomb, followed by gunfire from the BIFF.

That incident resulted in the death of one policeman and the injury of seven others.


This incident also follows a similar attack on August 30 of last year when gunmen ambushed the police chief of Sharif Aguak town, Lieutenant Reynaldo Samson, and his security aide, Corporal Salipudin Endab.

They were en route to make an arrest in the village of Kapinpilan at around 10 am on that day.

Police have attributed the August 30 ambush to the Karialan faction of the BIFF, led by Abdulnasser Sabtulah Guianid and Guipar Abdulkarim, also known as Commander Boy Jacket.

Other members of the group include Sala Tunda, Johari Abdulbasser Guinaid, Phepe Saptulah, Abdulrah Sapal, and Bobot Kamsa.


https://www.rappler.com/nation/mindanao/cops-killed-ambush-maguindanao-del-sur-june-14-2023/

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