1 dead after gunmen attack village, torch houses in Cotabato

COTABATO CITY – Unidentified gunmen on motorboats stormed a coastal village here early Thursday, shot dead a fishpond caretaker, and then torched several houses before fleeing, the police said.

Senior Supt. Rex Anongos, city police chief, said the men, numbering about 30, arrived on Kalanganan Dos around 5 a.m.

Quoting witnesses, Anongos said the gunmen arrived on two separate motorboats and immediately opened fire.

Esmael Samad, Kalanganan Dos village chief, said the slain villager was Guiamadel Abubakar, whose remains were found a few meters away from the houses the suspects left burning as they fled.

Anongos said the police were looking at rido or family feud as possible motive of the attack.

He said the police were still trying to identify the suspects, however, an Army team had been deployed in the area to prevent a repeat of the incident. CDG