11 hurt as gunmen attack bus in Zamboanga City

(Updated 5:15 p.m.) Eleven people were hurt when unidentified armed men strafed a passenger bus in Zamboanga City on Saturday night, a military official said on Sunday. In an interview with GMANews.TV, Western Mindanao Command head Maj. Gen. Benjamin Dolorfino said the incident occurred at about 9 p.m. in Sitio (sub-village) Pulang Lupa in the village of Licomo, Zamboanga City. He said the bus, owned by Rural Transit and with body number 912, was en route to Pagadian City in Zamboanga del Sur province when strafed by gunmen believed to be extortionists. The bus driver, who was in a serious condition, and the conductor were among the 11 casualties. “Police and military are investigating the attack. We have reports the attackers were extortionists," Dolorfino said.
The wounded passengers were rushed to hospital in the town of Ipil in Zamboanga Sibugay. No group or individual claimed responsibility for the ambush, but troops are tracking down those behind the attack, said Col. Santiago Baluyot, commander of a local anti-terror task force. He said a doctor, Maita Blanco, was among those hurt in the attack. Military intelligence reports said the attack was carried out by Moro rebels led by a certin Yacub Ilong, whose group was also behind the spate of highway robberies and extortion activities in Zamboanga Sibugay province. In May 2000, four civilians were killed when dozens of Moro rebels raided Licomo. They also held up several buses and abducted passengers in the past in the same village. - with Sophia Dedace/KBK/NPA/KBK, GMANews.TV