Soldiers gun down 'amok' at Zamboanga checkpoint

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – Government soldiers shot and killed a man who allegedly tried to attack them Monday with a machete at a checkpoint in the southern Philippine port city of Zamboanga, officials said. Officials said the man, Romeo Abdullah charged toward two soldiers with his machete - chanting "Allahu Akbar" – but was gunned down before he could hack them. "The soldiers were alert and shot the man who attacked them at the checkpoint," said Col. Santiago Baluyot, commander of an army anti-terror task force. He said the Abdullah was wearing a white burial cloth around his head and a pair of short pants when he suddenly charged towards the soldiers. "Residents in the area said the man was a known drug addict and suffering from a mental illness. We don't know what triggered the attack, but we understand that he got that burial cloth from his relative who died three days ago," Baluyot said. Baluyot said soldiers are in heightened alert in Zamboanga City as part of a security measure after Moro rebels bombed a power pylon at the weekend in Lanao del Norte province, cutting off electricity in many parts of Mindanao, including Zamboanga City. Two improvised explosives, believed planted by rebels, were also recovered last week near a bus depot in Zamboanga City, which had been previously bombed by the Abu Sayyaf and Moro Islamic Liberation Front. - Al Jacinto, GMANews.TV