3 dead in Maguindanao firefight

Three innocent villagers, among them a five-year-old boy, were killed, while five others were seriously wounded when military escorts of a convoy of vehicles, believed to be carrying politicians, allegedly opened fire on houses along the national highway in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao yesterday.

But key military sources in Cotabato City clarified that the convoy was ambushed by armed men positioned along the highway, triggering a brief gunbattle.

The sources, however, declined to say if the convoy of vehicles carried soldiers or politicians who were on their way to a campaign sortie somewhere in the first district of Maguindanao.

But the Agence France Presse said that Andal Ampatuan, an opposition bet for governor, was in the convoy and was unharmed.

Police investigators identified the fatalities as Bainot Gunda, 56; Nasser Buka, 13; and Abdusalam Gunda, 5, who all sustained multiple gunshot wounds.

Witnesses said the victims were gathered along a stretch of the Cotabato-Isulan Highway in Barangay Baka, Datu Odin Sinsuat town, about 30 kilometers south of Cotabato City, when the convoy’s security escorts allegedly started shooting at them.

Five other villagers, siblings Noraisa and Tato Kusain, their mother Labiyu, Saliada Masukat and Abubakar Salipada, were wounded and rushed to nearby hospitals.

Maj. Julieto Ando, speaking on behalf of the 6th Infantry Division, said the firefight erupted when armed men opened fire on a vehicle of the 6th Infantry Battalion which was trailing the convoy.

"Naturally, the soldiers were forced to return fire. A firefight ensued and most likely, the slain and wounded civilians were trapped in the ensuing crossfire," Ando told reporters.

He said soldiers, as of press time, were still running after the ambushers who fled toward a forested area.

Last week, six people were killed and 20 others were seriously wounded when supporters of a re-electionist mayor opened fire on the crowd attending a graduation ceremony in Maguindanao’s Kabuntalan town, where a rival politician was to deliver a keynote speech.