4 MILF members killed in Maguindanao del Sur ambush

INQUIRER FILES

SHARIFF Aguak, Maguindanao Del Sur — Four members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) were killed on the spot in an ambush in Satan village, about a kilometer away from the town proper here, past 8 a.m. on Sunday, April 14.

Lt. Colonel Reggie Albellera, Shariff Aguak town police chief, said the fatalities were all members of the 118th Base Command of the MILF and identified only as aliases “Mhoni,” “Kar,” his son “Tapuri” and an unidentified victim.

He said all the victims were residents of Pamalian village in Shariff Saydona Mustapha, a town adjacent to Shariff Aguak.

Col. Roel Sermerse, the Maguindanao del Sur police provincial director, identified the group of Kagi Katatang, a former leader of the outlawed Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), to be behind the ambush.

READ: 4 Army troopers killed in Maguindanao del Sur ambush

Albellera said the victims were on board two motorbikes on their way to Barangay Limpongo in Datu Hoffer town when ambushed by gunmen positioned on both sides of the highway.

“They were supposed to attend a motor trail activity in Datu Hoffer but were waylaid in Barangay Satan,” Albellera told the Inquirer in a phone interview. He attributed the ambush to the long standing “rido” (clan war) between the two armed groups.

The military has referred to Satan, a village of Shariff Aguak that shares a common border with Limpongo of Datu Hoffer town, as “lair” of the BIFF.