Ex-Maguindanao town mayor, vice mayor-son hurt in grenade attack

ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman visits former Talayan mayor Datu Ali Midtimbang, who was wounded in a grenade attack on Friday. PHOTO FROM HATAMAN’S OFFICE

COTABATO CITY, Maguindanao—Six persons, including a former town mayor of Talayan, Maguindanao, were injured when unidentified men lobbed a grenade on their car past 1 p.m. Friday.

Former Talayan mayor Datu Ali Midtimbang and his son, Nathaniel—who was also Talayan vice mayor – were on their way home along with the other victims after attending Friday’s Islamic prayer at the Golden Mosque in Talayan when the attack took place.

The other injured victims were Manap Balumol, Jimmy Abdulrahman, Datumanong Mopac, and the mayor’s 17-year-old kin.

Police authorities, who responded to the incident,  engaged the suspects—who were reported to be in another vehicle—in a firefight.

The clash prompted authorities to momentarily shut down the Talayan portion of the Cotabato-General Santos highway.

The Midtimbangs and the other victims were rushed to the Cotabato Regional Hospital here, where they were later declared to be in stable condition.

Gov. Mujiv Hataman of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) paid them a visit and condemned the attack./rga