Manila ( AsiaNews
/ Agencies) - The death toll from an ambush that took place this morning at the
international airport in Manila, Philippines is of four victims, including the
mayor of a town in the south of the country.
Four other people were injured. Angel
Honrado , head of the airport, reports that " the mayor [ Ukol Talumpa of
Labangan in the southern province of Zamboanga del Sur ] , his family and the
heads of security have been attacked". A
group of armed men , said some witnesses , surprised the official and his
entourage while they were waiting outside Terminal 3 . The
attackers - on board motorcycles - approached the group and opened fire at
point blank range giving their victims no time to react. The victims included the mayor's wife and a
child of a year and a half .
The
security personnel of the airport tried to chase the two assailants, who,
however, managed to escape. Investigators
found at least 20 bullets fired by two attackers at the scene . At
the point where the attack took place, there are no CCTV cameras, so airport authorities
and police have appealed for witnesses to identify the attackers.
The
ambush took place shortly before noon, in a busy period due to the upcoming
holiday season. Ukol
Talumpa (pictured) had just landed in the Philippine capital on a Cebu Pacific
flight from the airport of Zamboanga City. The
agents have set up a series of checkpoints, in an area of about 1.5 km from
the point where the attack took place.
In
May last Ukol Talumpa , a member of the national opposition party, won the
office of mayor of Labangan after a hotly contested election, with accusations
of fraud and irregularities. Already
in September 2012 he had escaped an assassination attempt, following the
explosion of a grenade in the city of Pagadian . At the time, he was the
deputy-mayor of Labangan. In
2010, however, he suffered some injuries - as well as his nephew, Alimond Silad
- during a shootout in Manila.
The
victim was from the region of Mindanao, the scene of a long bloody war between
government forces and Muslim separatists . In
September last, three weeks of fighting in Zamboanga claimed the lives of 203
people and postponed peace talks with the leaders of the rebel groups . In
early December, the government led by President Benigno Aquino said the ratification
of a final agreement was close, which should take place next month and thus put
an end to a ten-year war that has claimed around 200 thousand lives. During
election periods, the southern Philippines has experienced moments of tension
and bloody violence: among the most serious, the attack took place November 23,
2009 against the clan of Ishmael "Toto" Mangudadatu , vice mayor of
Buluan and candidate for the office of governor
of Maguindanao province in the southern Philippines , in the Autonomous Region
in Muslim Mindanao ( Armm ) . 58
people died in the attack , including the politician's relatives and supporters,
as well as journalists accompanying the group.