3 killed in separate Basilan gun attacks

COTABATO CITY — Three ethnic Yakans were killed in two separate gun attacks in Tipo-Tipo, Basilan on Thursday that municipal police investigators are still trying to determine if these are related to Monday’s electoral exercise.

In a report on Friday to Brig. Gen. Allan Nobleza, director of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, the Basilan Provincial Police Office identified the three fatalities as Alsadal Abdurajak, Ilaji Sannani and Ilham Asdang, who all died on the spot due to multiple bullet wounds.

Col. Carlos Madronio, director of the Basilan provincial police, said the first to perish in the two deadly incidents was Abduradjak, who was shot dead by still unidentified gunmen at Sitio Dayuh in Barangay Bohe Lebbeng in Tipo-Tipo.

Investigators from the Tipo-Tipo Municipal Police Station have found out that Abduradjak was on his way home walking from somewhere when men positioned along his route opened fire, killing him on the spot.

In only about an hour later, gunmen killed the Yakan carpenters Sannani and Asdang while they were doing carpentry work in a house in Sitio Mabeh in Barangay Banah in the same town.

The culprits behind the two atrocities had all escaped, now subject of extensive joint manhunt by barangay officials and personnel of the Tipo-Tipo MPS.

Nobleza said local police investigators and intelligence agents from the Basilan PPO are still trying to establish if the seemingly planned killings are rooted to “rido,” meaning clan war in most Moro vernaculars, or has got to do with the October 30 synchronized barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections.