Death toll in Eid'l Fitr massacre reaches 23

ISABELA CITY, Basilan - The death toll in the ambush staged by the Abu Sayyaf on civilian residents reached 23 on Saturday, while 9 others who were wounded remained confined in the hospitals, security officials said.

Police and marines have beefed security in Talipao, Sulu to avert possible retaliation of the of the villagers against the families of Abu Sayyaf members involved in the Monday ambush of 50 civilians who were on their way to attend the culmination of the Ramadan in Barangay Lower Talipao.

Chief Superintendent Noel delos Reyes, police regional director for Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), told newsmen here that the additional two deaths were among the five wounded victims who were brought by Talipao Vice Mayor Tamrin Tulawi to Zamboanga City for treatment.

Tulawi personally brought and assisted the five victims, including four children, who arrived Tuesday dawn. Two of the victims died while undergoing treatment in a private hospital. Delos Reyes said three other wounded victims remained confined an in critical condition at the Integrated Provincial Health Office in Jolo, Sulu while the other one who sustained slight injury has been discharged after treatment. 

A special task group was also created to identify and gather more evidence on the ground to ensure a tight case against the suspects, said Delos Reyes.

“We just don’t want to rely on the people pinpointing to anybody else, we want evidence that will pin down those perpetrators behind this crime,” Delos Reyes assured.

The military and police in the area have identified Iddang Susukan and Sibih Pisih who led about 50 Abu Sayyaf members in the ambuscade. 

Delos Reyes said one of the motives they were looking at was the possibility of retaliation of the Abu Sayyaf group against the local government for assisting the government forces in the security operation.

The ARMM police chief said additional police forces from the provincial public safety battalion have augmented the local police in Talipao to ensure residents will not take the law on their hands and retaliate on the innocent families of the suspects. 

“If the motive is rido (clan war) there might be a post-ambush violence. We have advised the police there to ensure that this will not happen,” he said.

Meanwhile, condemnation continued to grow against the Abu Sayyaf group who perpetrated the ambush while the Muslim villagers celebrated Eid’l Fitr.

“Nakakainis dito, one of the holiest moments in the Islamic religion, doon pa tinira ang mga kababayan natin na magdadasal- not only women but also children and the youngest was 9 months old,” Delos Reyes said. 

ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman said the act of ambush on the Muslim women and children was un-Islamic especially at the celebration of the Eid’l Fitr following the month-long cleansing. 

“Not just because it’s Eid’l Fitr or Ramadan but because it is prohibited to kill women and children in islam. How much more this significant day?” Hataman said. 

Hataman said that it is beyond comprehension for a normal human to commit the act on innocent women and children.

“So it’s hard to understand if they (Abu Sayyaf) are really fighting for any cause,” he said.

Hatamad personally visited those victims confined at the hospital in Zamboanga City and extended them with financial assistance for the medical treatment and those who were killed in Sulu.

Delos Reyes suspected that those who participated the ambush could be under the influence of prohibited drugs citing the heinous attack can not be just perpetrated by a normal person.

“Any normal person can not just kill anybody specially with a 9-month-old victim. Now, I believed the lose talks that our Abu Sayyaf brothers are using prohibited drugs,” delos Reyes said.

Lt. Gen. Rustico Guerrero, Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom), also denounced the attack on the civilians and sympathized Muslim community in Sulu with the assurance to go after those behind the ambush. 

Guerrero and Delos Reyes said a pursuit operation by the marines has been ongoing against the group of Susukan and Pisih.

Guerrero also sent his deputy commander Brig. Gen. Orlando de Leon, who was a former commander of Sulu, to personally oversee the operation.