Gunmen executed three hunters on suspicion that they were aiding the military in the southern province of Zamboanga del Norte, security officials and villagers have said. Officials said Remecito Granaderos, Hernanie Apatan, 57, and his son Herwin, 27, were seized by rebels on Sunday while on their way to hunt for wild boars in the hinterland village of San Vicente in Sirawai town. Burned remains of the trioâs bodies were found with hack and bullet wounds, said a military report. The report said the gunmen were led by a Commander Jaafar Aban, also known as Baby Aguila, whom the military tagged as a member of the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Soldiers and villagers searched for the trio when they failed to return home and found the corpses Monday afternoon, said Col. Fredesvindo Covarrubias, chief of the militaryâs 4th Civil Relations Group (CRG). Villagers told a military team investigating the attack that the trio were abducted and killed by rebels on suspicion they passed on information to government soldiers about the MILF.
The MILF yesterday strongly denied involvement in the killing and said Jaafar Aban is not their member.
| "Jaafar Aban? No, no! Never heard of him!" |
âThe MILF has nothing to do with the killings in Zamboanga del Norte and Jaafar Aban, whom the military tagged as the mastermind in the attack, is not a member of our group,â Front spokesman Eid (Lipless Eddie) Kabalu said in a phone interview. Kabalu noted that bandits and cattle rustlers are known to operate in the province. |