Report: Kidnap leader killed in Lanao Sur encounter

A suspected leader of a kidnap-for-ransom group was killed in an encounter with police in Lanao del Sur province Monday. Radio dzXL reported Tuesday that Khalid Pansar was killed in a 30-minute firefight in Lumbac village in Pualas town. The report said Pansar tried to resist arrest by police teams troops. Pansar had been linked to several cases of kidnap-for-ransom and attempted murder, it added. A separate report on Mindanao-based news site Mindanao Examiner also linked him to the kidnapping of a Muslim trader and attacks on commuter buses in Mindanao. The news site quoted provincial police chief Senior Superintendent Cosanie Derogongan as saying Pansar was Lanao del Sur’s most wanted man. — RSJ, GMANews.TV