COTABATO CITY (MindaNews / 15 June)—Two policemen were killed, while four others were wounded when an armed group ambushed the patrol car of the 2nd Provincial Mobile Force Company of Maguindanao del Sur police as they were returning to the provincial headquarters in Shariff Aguak town at 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
“The troops were about to go back to the camp from a routine patrol they conducted in Shariff Aguak Poblacion when the ambush happened. It was followed with a short firefight,” according to Brig. Gen. Allan Nobleza, regional chief of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region.
He added that the ambush happened a few meters from the headquarters.
Wounded personnel were immediately rushed to the nearby provincial hospital.
Security measures by the police and military were immediately tightened in possible exit and entry points in the province as pursuit operations were implemented.
Nobleza said they are thoroughly investigating what happened. In response to a query on whether this was a retaliation attack following the killing of alleged ISIS Emir Abu Zacaria in Marawi City on Wednesday, Nobleza said: “We cannot say at this point or speculate who were behind the ambush.”
This is not the first time an ambush happened near the police headquarters.
In January 2018, a policeman was killed and seven others were wounded when a police car was hit with a roadside bomb, followed by a burst of fire perpetrated by the ISIS-Inspired Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters. (Ferdinandh B. Cabrera / MindaNews)
