MILF leader, aide hurt in Maguindanao del Norte ambush

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — A field commander of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and his aide were hurt in an ambush in Barangay Poblacion in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte on Monday.

In separate reports on Tuesday, the municipal police and the Maguindanao del Norte Provincial Police Office stated that the victims, Garante Tumanggong Kawilan and Guimaludin Kamid Samad, were together in a white minivan when they were attacked by gunmen at a stretch of a highway in Barangay Poblacion in Datu Odin Sinsuat.

Kawilan is one of the commanders in the MILF’s 104th Base Command, according to senior leaders of the front and officials of the Bangsamoro regional government.

The wounded Kawilan and his companion were immediately transported to a hospital by responding personnel of the Datu Odin Sinsuat Municipal Police Station.

Witnesses told reporters the duo, although wounded, managed to return fire as their attackers fled using a getaway motorcycle.

The culprits reportedly escaped towards the nearby Maguindanao del Sur province, now subject of a police manhunt.