ZAMBOANGA CITY—Abu Sayyaf gunmen on Saturday attacked a paramilitary outpost in Basilan and beheaded a militiaman, who died in the incident.
Chief Insp. Edwin Placio, chief of the Maluso town police, said some 20 heavily armed Abu Sayyaf bandits stormed the patrol base manned by members of the Civilian Active Auxiliary in Sitio Mabolo in Barangay Townsite around 5:40 a.m.
He said two CAA members, Daning and Kilah Lumayon, were patrolling when the attack took place and immediately fell prey to the attacking bandits.
“Daning Lumayon died and was beheaded. His M16 rifle, his bandolier with magazine and ammunition, were carted away by the armed men. Kilah Lumayon was wounded in the attack,” Placio said.
About 10 minutes later, members of the 14th Special Forces Company and militiamen clashed with the same band of bandits, this time as they were withdrawing toward Barangay Mahayahay, according to Lt. Christine Magno, information officer of the Army’s 104th Infantry Brigade.
Placio said two bandits were reportedly injured in the clash.
“There were about 20 families evacuated from Upper Mahayahay due to the firefight,” he said.
Saturday’s incident was the second of such violence that occurred in Basilan this week.
On Friday, a political rivalry between two village politicians in Lantawan, Basilan, took an ugly turn and sparked shooting incidents that killed four persons.
The violence was triggered by Friday morning’s killing of the grandson of Julhambri Majondi, village chair of Lawi-lawi in Lantawan town allegedly by supporters of his predecessor, Ibrahim Alam.
Upon learning of his grandson’s death, Majondi led an attack against Alam’s group. Among those killed was a brother of Alam’s.
Lt. Col. Eliglen Villaflor, commander of the 4th Special Forces Battalion based in the said province, confirmed to the Inquirer that the shooting incidents involved the groups of Majondi and Alam and that four people had so far been killed.
He said Alam was the former village chief and had lost his post when the Commission on Elections recently sided with Majondi in a bitterly-fought election protest.
Villaflor said there had been civilians displaced by the tension in Lawi-lawi and that they were assisted by personnel of the 15th Special Forces Company in their evacuation to the nearby village of Barangay Landugan.
Hadji Gani Ottoh, Lantawan vice mayor, said he and Nasser Abubakar, the president of the town’s Association of Barangay Chairmen, had proceeded to the Landugan to provide assistance to the displaced residents. RC