The slain suspects, identified only as Talib and Kadil, were followers of alleged kidnap gang leader David Ampatuan, 27, who was nabbed during the rescue of 13-year-old Apple Tabuada Deen by a joint Army-Marine team at the San Pablo Subdivision here.
The firefight between the kidnappers and combatants of the Army’s 57th Infantry in Barangay Gubat, Datu Odin Sinsuat erupted just as authorities were bringing Ampatuan to Cagayan de Oro City for detention and subsequent prosecution there.
Maj. Julieto Ando, spokesman of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said the presence of Ampatuan’s cohorts in Barangay Gubat was first reported to a nearby Army detachment by vigilant farmers, who noticed them bringing maps and two bags which were later found to contain assorted ammunition and live anti-tank B-40 rockets.
Plainclothes agents of Task Force Tugis tried to convince them to give themselves in peacefully but they instead opened fire at the soldiers.
The slain men were identified as Ampatuan’s cohorts with the help of civilians and through photos found in Ampatuan’s possession.
Ando said Talib and Kadil were with Ampatuan when combined operatives of the 6th ID, the 7th Marine Battalion Landing Team, the Army’s Region 12 Intelligence Service Unit, PACER and the local police swooped down on their lair to rescue Deen.
Ampatuan voluntarily surrendered and yielded his pistol, but Talib and Kadil managed to escape.
Found in the two slain men’s possession were two handguns, rough sketches of entry and exit routes in plush residential areas here and in Cagayan de Oro City, two fragmentation grenades and two small canvass bags containing assorted bullets.
Preceding the incident in Datu Odin Sinsuat was the release of two women, Janiya Taup Usman and Bai Manaut Usman, who were held for questioning after they were seen in the vicinity of Ampatuan’s hideout during the rescue.
Ando said police and Army probers found no evidence linking the Usmans to the group of Ampatuan, who hails from Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao.
Ampatuan found it easy to abduct Deen because they were neighbors in Kauswagan, a residential area in Cagayan de Oro City.
Deen, daughter of a Cagayan de Oro car dealer and a first year high school student, was on his way to school on Jan. 8 when Ampatuan offered her a ride in his Mazda car. The unsuspecting teener acceded.