Influential Filipino Muslim Killed In Ambush

Unidentified gunmen yesterday killed an influential Muslim politician and four of his bodyguards in an ambush in the southern Philippine city of Pagadian. Sultan Abdul MarcabanPolice said Councilor Sultan Abdul Marcaban and four soldiers were killed in the attack near the village of Tiguma. Marcaban was on a private vehicle when gunmen, who were on a van, opened fire with automatic weapons, a police report said. Pagadian City Mayor Samuel Co said investigators were still looking into a possible motive of the killing. Marcaban, a philanthropist, was a former president of Federation of Barangay Seaweeds Planters’ Association and headed the Association of Barangay Chairmen in Pagadian City at the time of his death. Marcaban belonged to one of the most influential and respected clans in the southern Philippines and a government supporter. In December, unidentified gunmen also ambushed and wounded Marcaban and his two bodyguards in the village of Tawagan Sur.