ZAMBOANGA CITY – Government troops are tracking down the attackers who bombed and snatched the firearm of one of the two soldiers injured at a checkpoint in Lamitan City, Basilan province on Tuesday.
Brig. Gen. Domingo Gobway, 101st Infantry Brigade commander, has ordered all units under his command to intensify intelligence monitoring and checkpoint operations to arrest the suspects behind the attack.
Gobway said Cpl. Cyrus Bunda and Private Arny Vember Basco of the 68th Infantry Battalion were injured when an improvised explosive device (IED) blew up around 8:50 a.m. at a checkpoint in Barangay Campo Uno, Lamitan City, Basilan.
He said three unidentified persons onboard a motorcycle appeared and one of them repeatedly shot Basco with a caliber .45 pistol and carted away the R4A3 rifle with an attached M-203 of Bunda, who fell unconscious due to the explosion. Basco sustained a gunshot wound in the body.
He said the suspects sped towards Barangay Cabobo, Lamitan City.
The two injured soldiers were rushed to the hospital for treatment.
Gobway said they have yet to determine whether the attackers are affiliated with the Basilan-based Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG). (PNA)
