Five of six dead in Basilan ambush identified

MANILA, Philippines—Of the six killed in an ambush by lawless elements in Barangay Tumajubong in Sumisip town, Basilan Wednesday morning, five were identified by the military.

Captain Alberto Caber of the Army’s First Infantry Division said the civilian fatalities identified were Dante Binondo, Larry Mangaran Sr, Bonifacio Estequia, Albert Parang and Loreto Jeneney Jr. An unnamed militiaman was also killed.

These civilian workers of Tumajubong Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Integrated Development Cooperative were on their way to the rubber plantation at 6 a.m. Wednesday on board four civilian trucks when they were waylaid by at least ten heavily armed men while traversing the Basilan Circumferential Road in Brgy. Sapah Bulak.

The militiamen who escorted the civilian workers managed to return fire, forcing the lawless elements to retreat in different directions.

An Agence France-Presse report said about 22 civilians were wounded in the encounter.

The perpetrators were from the same group, Abu Sayyaf Group under sub leader Radzmil Janatol, which the militiamen encountered also in Sumisip the previous day, Caber said.