2 MILF leaders killed in North Cotabato ambush

NORTH COTABATO, Philippines — Gunmen killed two senior members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front  in an ambush in Pikit, North Cotabato on Sunday.

Solaiman Dimanalaw and Suk Macasasa, both community leaders of the MILF in Barangay Kabasalan in Pikit, died on the spot from multiple gunshot wounds.

They were attacked while on board a motorized riverboat en route to Barangay Kabasalan from a market where they delivered fish caught in the Liguasan Delta.

Investigators said gunmen armed with M14 and M16 rifles riding a larger watercraft opened fire from behind as they got close to the smaller boat carrying Dimanalaw and Macasasa.

Witnesses said the victims returned fire, but were eventually killed by their attackers in the ensuing firefight.

Investigators are still trying to identify the culprits and their motive for killing the duo.

The gunmen divested the victims of their wallets and assault rifles before they fled.

The incident was preceded by an attack early Sunday by alleged members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters on a group of barangay officials in Midsayap, North Cotabato.

Superintendent Bernard Tayong, chief of the Midsayap municipal police, said Nestor Rabara, incumbent chairman of Barangay Glad, and companions were in a farm together when four men shot them with rifles.

No one was hurt in the attack but the bursts of automatic gunfire triggered panic among villagers in the surroundings.

The gunmen hurriedly scampered away when responding militiamen and soldiers from a nearby Army detachment were closing in.