4 MILF members killed in Maguindanao del Sur ambush

COTABATO CITY—  Local terrorists on Sunday killed in an ambush in Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao del Sur four members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, who actively supported the police and military’s anti-terror campaign in the province.

Local leaders, members of different municipal peace and order councils in Maguindanao del Sur and officials of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division told reporters on Monday morning that Mhoni Kamid, Khar and Tapurih, both surnamed Anding Ahmed Mansur died on the spot from gunshot wounds in different parts of their bodies.

The victims, all residents of Barangay Dapiawan in Datu Saudi Ampatuan, Maguindanao del Sur, were riding motorcycles, maneuvering through a stretch of a highway in Shariff Aguak town, when gunmen positioned along the route shot them with assault rifles, killing them instantly.

Maguindanao del Sur’s police director, Col. Roel Sermese and the chief of the Shariff Aguak Municipal Police Station, Lt. Col. Regie Albellera, stated in separate reports on Monday to the headquarters of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region that the slain MILF members were on their way to Barangay Limpongo in Datu Hoffer town when they were attacked.

Local executives and traditional Moro community elders told reporters the group of Kagui Katatang, who is identified with both the outlawed Dawlah Islamiya and BIFF, was behind the atrocity.

Senior officials of Army units under 6th ID told reporters the four ambush fatalities had guided soldiers to secluded hideouts of 19 wanted Dawlah Islamiya and BIFF members in recent months in operations that resulted in clashes that led to their deaths.

The MILF and the national government are bound by a peace compact, the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamoro, to cooperate in addressing security issues besetting Moro communities.