Military still clueless on attacker of Army unit in Tacurong City

CAMP SIONGCO, Maguindanao — Military probers are still clueless on the identity of the gunman, disguised as a soldier, who stormed the command center of an Army anti-crime unit in Tacurong City and killed two sentries last Tuesday.

The man, who was neatly clad in an Army uniform and armed with an M-14 assault rifle, was himself gunned down by responding soldiers after he fatally shot two soldiers manning the entrance to the headquarters of Task Force Talakudung.

"We are still verifying his identity and the real motive for the attack," said Maj. Gen. Agustin Dema-ala, commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, which has jurisdiction over Task Force Talakudung.

Dema-ala said talk has been circulating since last Wednesday that the attacker, described to be in his early 30s, could be a member of the Pentagon kidnap gang on a test mission.

From 2002 to 2003, Task Force Talakudung, while still under Dema-ala, who was former commander of the 604th Infantry Brigade in Tacurong City, neutralized 48 ranking Pentagon members, many of them slain in encounters.

"The unsuspecting guards whom the gunman managed to kill with his M-14 must have thought that he was their companion because he was wearing a standard Army uniform," Dema-ala said. "Once at the (entrance) of the headquarters of the task force, he immediately opened fire."

The incident occurred hours after Dema-ala and his men overran an enclave of the Abu Sayyaf in Talayan, Maguindanao following an hour-long firefight that resulted in the deaths of four Tausog-speaking men.

Local officials have confirmed that the slain men were followers of Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khadaffy Janjalani.

Dema-ala said the attack on the headquarters of Task Force Talakudung could be in retaliation for the deaths of the four Abu Sayyaf members.