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Soldier hurt in clash with suspected Ampatuan men in Maguindanao


A soldier was wounded in Maguindanao on Tuesday when his battalion clashed with a private armed group allegedly led by one of the suspects in last year’s grisly massacre in the province. The military identified the leader of the armed group as Datu Ulo Ampatuan, a member of the powerful Ampatuan family, some prominent members of which are implicated in the killing of at least 57 people in the province on November 23, 2009. Military reports said the clash happened between members of the Army’s 46th Infantry Battalion and some 50 armed men at Barangay Malatimon in Ampatuan town at about 5:35 a.m. The reports did not identify the wounded soldier, but said government troops were able to recover an M60 machine gun, a 60-mm mortar tube, and a generator from the scene of the clash. Ulo is among the 196 individuals charged with 57 counts of murder for the November 23 carnage in Ampatuan town. He is one of the 28 accused carrying the Ampatuan surname -- about a dozen of them considered prominent members of the powerful clan. Along with 100 other suspects in the massacre, Ulo remains at large as of posting time, more than a year after the killings happened on a hilly portion of Sitio Masalay in Barangay Salman. Ulo is the grandson of clan patriarch Andal Ampatuan Sr. and son of Datu Anwar "Noah" Ampatuan Sr., who are both implicated in the multiple murder case and detained at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City. Ulo is currently a councilor of Shariff Aguak, a known stronghold of the Ampatuans. The influential clan is said to be controlling a private army in the province. - Mark Dalan Meruenas/KBK, GMANews.TV

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