ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – Lost command rebels of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) killed two Army intelligence operatives in an ambush last Tuesday in a village of Zamboanga Sibugay province, the military said.
Col. Santiago Baluyot, commander of the Army’s 102nd Infantry Brigade, identified the two fatalities as Corporals Abdul Suhod and Halik Imlane, both assigned to the 12th Military Intelligence Company.
Baluyot said the two had come from a mission to verify certain intelligence information when they were waylaid in Purok Sanito, Barangay Dalangin in Titay, Zamboanga Sibugay.
The Army intelligence operatives were on civilian clothes and were cruising Purok Sanito on a motorcycle when they were fired at with M-16 rifles.
Baluyot said the two undercover agents could have been tipped off by the villagers they had contact with to the MILF lost command rebels.
Baluyot said pursuit operations were ongoing against the attackers, who have been extorting from bus companies and business establishments in Titay and nearby towns.