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A Philippine army major and two of his men have been killed in an ambush by guerrillas opposed to peace talks, authorities said yesterday. |
The officer and two soldiers were in civilian clothing and driving an unmarked pickup truck when they were waylaid along a national highway on the southern island of Mindanao on Monday, regional military spokesman Colonel Dickson Hermoso said.
“They were on a personal trip when they were halted and shot at,” Hermoso added.
The Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters gunmen later stole the victims’ wallets and laptops, the army spokesman said.
It was not immediately clear if the rebels attacked the group because they were army men or if they were randomly targeted for their valuables, he added.
A spokesman for the BIFF, Abu Misry Mama, confirmed the attack near the town of Datu Piang, saying the rebels opened fire because the victims tried to “evade arrest”.
Hermoso declined to identify the victims, saying their families have yet to be informed of
their deaths.
