COTABATO CITY — A commander of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) was killed instantly, while four others—two of whom were also MILF officials—were wounded in an ambush at a busy intersection in Cotabato City on Wednesday, January 8.
Brig. Gen. Romeo Juan Macapaz, director of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, and officials of the Cotabato City Police Office told reporters on Thursday morning, January 9, that Ahmad Kanapia Utto, a senior MILF commander in Barangay Barurao in Sultan sa Barongis town in Maguindanao del Sur, was declared dead on arrival at the Cotabato Regional Medical Center where he was brought by companions for treatment.
The ambush left Marato Angkangatan Felmin and Jaypee Felmin Emran, also commanders under the 15th and 16th Brigades of the front’s self-styled 105th Base Command, wounded.
They were traveling in a Hilux pick-up truck on their way home from the tightly guarded Bangsamoro regional capitol, located only about 900 meters away, when a gunman armed with a .45 caliber pistol attacked them at the busy intersection of Gov. Gutierrez and Sinsuat Avenues in the center of Cotabato City.
A companion of the slain MILF leader, Alladin Utto and a bystander, Tahir Tega Sam, were also wounded in the incident.
Police officials in Cotabato City told reporters they are certain that the ambush is related to the deep-seated conflicts among the victims and different adversaries in Sultan sa Barongis, a hostile town, where there are armed groups locked in deadly clan wars.
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