Maguindanao massacre suspect killed, 5 cops hurt in firefight

COTABATO CITY, Philippines  â€“ One of the key suspects in the Maguindanao massacre in 2009 was killed in a gun battle with arresting lawmen, leaving five policemen and a soldier wounded in Shariff Aguak yesterday.

Dayna Ampatuan was killed in the firefight with soldiers and policemen who were about to serve a warrant for his arrest, according to Army Col. Edgar Gonzales, 1st Infantry Mechanized Brigade commander.

Gonzales said several armed men who were with Ampatuan during the gunfight managed to escape.

Ampatuan was a relative of former Maguindanao governor Andal Ampatuan Sr., now detained along with his three sons and several other relatives in connection with the massacre.

Gonzales said a team of policemen from the Maguindanao provincial police office and soldiers attempted to arrest Ampatuan after learning that he was hiding in one of the villages in Shariff Aguak.

“Initial intelligence reports reaching us indicated that Ampatuan resisted and engaged the policemen and soldiers in a firefight. His companions joined in the foray,” Gonzales said.

He said Ampatuan’s group was outgunned by government forces as the firefight ensued.

“He was killed in the process. His cadaver has been retrieved by his relatives from the scene of the encounter,” Gonzales said.

Local officials added three of the gunmen who were wounded during the firefight were seen being dragged away to an area controlled by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

Gonzales said they immediately reported the incident to the Joint Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities overseeing law enforcement actions in areas covered by the ceasefire agreement with the government.