ZAMBOANGA CITY, 15 July 2006 — Two maritime policemen and a suspected Abu Sayyaf militant were killed yesterday in a shootout inside the busy port of Zambonga City in the southern Philippines, officials said.
A port security guard was also wounded in the gunbattle that erupted around 6:30 a.m. as policemen tried to frisk the man after his backpack yielded a magazine for .45-caliber pistol.
“The man quickly pulled a pistol from under his shirt and shot at the two policemen and the security guard. The assailant was later killed,” Chief Inspector Francisco Clavecillas, the port police commander, told Arab News.
“The man was well trained in handling a gun. He was quick and really trained to kill. He was a determined assassin and we suspect that he was a member of the Abu Sayyaf terrorist group,” Clavecillas said.
He said the man did not have any identification card. “We are still trying to identify him,” he said.
Clavecillas said he ordered more security guards and policemen deployed in the port to thwart possible retaliation and to secure the safety of travelers.
