NORTH COTABATO, Philippines – A farmer and his three children were killed in an attack by unidentified gunmen in Carmen town in this province on Monday night.
Ibrahim Agal, 50, and his children Sarah, 9, Pama, 10, and Mustapha, 12, were having dinner at their home in Barangay Ugalingan when the assailants barged in and shot them.
Three other members of the Agal family – Mokamad, 18; Jerry, 42, and Nasrudin, 9, were wounded in the attack.
Authorities are verifying reports that the killing could be due to clan war.
Meanwhile, a couple and their two-year-old grandson were killed in a similar attack that occurred in Sominot town, Zamboanga del Sur on Saturday night.
The couple’s teenage son survived the attack.
The family – Jorge Cataga, 57; his wife Neri, 53; their son Zeo, 14, and grandson Zean Lavaro were having dinner at their home in Purok 3, Barangay Upper Sicpao when the assailants arrived at around 7:30 p.m. and strafed them, according to Chief Inspector Rogelio Alabata, information officer of the Police Regional Office 9.
Zeo was brought by responding village leaders to the hospital for treatment.
Police have yet to detemine the motive for the killing.