1 slain, another critically injured in Cotabato ambush

ILL-FATED The pickup truck boarded by the victims. —PNP-MATALAM

COTABATO CITY –– One person was killed while another was critically injured in an ambush Wednesday night in Matalam town in Cotabato province, police said.

Captain Junrel Amotan, Matalam police chief, identified the slain person as Norodin Solaiman Ambel, 35, and the wounded as Rowena De Leon, 45.

De Leon is the village chief of Barangay Kilada, where Ambel is a councilman.

Amotan said the two were with five others on board a pickup truck when they were ambushed. They just came from an iftar or buka (breaking of the fast) when an undetermined number of gunmen fired upon them at Purok Tagumpay 2 of Barangay Marbel around 6:30 p.m.

The five others in the vehicle escaped the ambush unharmed.

Amotan said Ambel was killed on the spot due to multiple gunshot wounds.

Probers recovered 25 empty shells for M-16 and M-14 rifles at the crime scene.

Amotan said the initial investigation showed that the attack was carried out by a group led by a certain Naig Naga, whose family has been locked in a feud with the Ambel clan.

Colonel Henry Blanca Villar, Cotabato police director, has ordered the deployment of peacekeeping forces in Matalam to prevent the escalation of violence between the feuding clans.

Several families have fled the village to avoid being caught in the crossfire as relatives of the slain councilman vowed to retaliate.

LZB