Muslim rebels kill rivals in Cotabato

COTABATO CITY — Muslim separatist guerrillas killed three members of a rival group and wounded two government militiamen in separate attacks in North Cotabato, the military said yesterday.

About 15 members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) ambushed the three Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) members in Carmen, North Cotabato on Tuesday, Maj. Julieto Ando, spokesman of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said.

The MNLF men were riding a motorcycle to work on a government project when they were ambushed, Ando said, adding the MILF attackers did not take any of the victims’ belongings.

Hours earlier, another group of MILF fighters attacked a military outpost in Carmen, wounding two militiamen in the process.

None of the attackers were wounded, Ando said.

In Zamboanga del Sur, three towns — Sirawai, Siocon and Baliguian — were thrown into darkness when MILF rebels, led by Said Aban, alias Commander Aguila, cut down and burned electric poles in Tungawan town last Monday. — John Unson, Roel Pareño