12/20/2013, 00.00
PHILIPPINES
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Manila airport ambush leaves Mayor of Labangan and four others dead

Two people, disguised as policemen, killed Ukol Talumpa , mayor of the province of Zamboanga del Sur. His wife and a toddler of one and a half also killed. The raid took place outside Terminal 3, at least 20 shots fired . In the past, the man had been the target of attacks.

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.

 

 

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