4 lawmen hurt in Zambo grenade attack

ZAMBOANGA CITY – At least four police officers were wounded when unidentified man lobbed and exploded a fragmentation grenade inside a police station Friday night in Kabasalan, Zamboanga Sibugay province, about 200 kms. east of this city.

Investigation disclosed that the victims were on standby on the complaint desk when the perpetrator tossed the grenade through the back window of the Kabasalan Police Station about 7:45p.m.

Western Mindanao Police Director Jaime Caringal identified the victims as Senior Police Officer 2 Ramon Merida, PO3 Carmelo Toledo, PO2 Joel Maala, and PO2 Glicerio Speragera. Caringal said the police authorities were investigating the motive of the attack which he described as “intentional.”

The wounded police officers were initially brought to Kabasalan General Hospital for treatment but were transferred at the hospital in this city.

It could not be immediately established if the grenade attack was in retaliation to the recent killing of Akiddin Abdulsalam alias Kumander Kiddie Saturday last week in the same municipality.

Kiddie was tagged as the brains behind the kidnapping of Italian missionary Fr. Giancarlo Bossi in Payao town last year.

Combined government security forces killed Kiddie, who had dozens of pending warrants for his arrest for kidnapping and murder charges, in a gunbattle while about to be arrested.

Aside from this, acting Zamboanga city police director, Superintendent Lurimer Detran also linked Kiddie said to be the leader of the Special Operations Group of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to the bombing outside of an Air Force in the city last month that claimed the lives of two innocent civilians.

“We are still conducting an investigation into this,” said Caringal who ordered all his ground commanders from provincial down to police stations to intensify security measures to prevent similar attacks.