Off-duty soldier killed in midday shooting in Maguindanao

COTABATO CITY — An off-duty Muslim soldier returning to his base after a midday prayer was shot dead by two gunmen along the national highway in Datu Odin Sinsuat (DOS), Maguindanao on Friday afternoon, the military said on Saturday.

Killed was Army Staff Sergeant Miranda Lumbatan, 45, assigned with the Army’s 38th Infantry Battalion and residing in Talitay, Maguindanao.

Lieutenant Colonel Sabri Lakibul, DOS police chief, said the soldier, who was unarmed and in civilian clothes, was walking back to the military detachment in Sitio Daywan, Barangay Tanuel after attending a midday prayer at a Mosque nearby, when gunmen riding in tandem on a motorcycle shot him about 12:45 p.m.

Lumbatan fell on the roadside with gunshot wounds in his chest and back from a caliber .45 pistol.

The suspects sped away toward the DOS town center.

He was rushed to a medical facility in Cotabato City but died before reaching the hospital, said Lakibul.

Lakibul said the motive and identities of the attackers remained unknown. (Editor: Leti Z. Boniol)