3 dead in Maguindanao shootout
DATU ODIN SINSUAT, Maguindanao - Three were killed, among them a popular Moro datu, in a gunfight just after a traditional Friday Islamic worship rite in a mosque in a busy area here.
Datu Jamael Sinsuat, who lost in his bid for this town’s mayoral post during the May 9 elections, died on the spot from bullet wounds sustained in an attack by a suspected hired killer.
Brig. Gen. John Guyguyon, director of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, said Friday personnel of the Datu Odin Sinsuat Municipal Police Station and intelligence agents from the Maguindanao Provincial Police Office shall cooperate in putting closure to the incident.
Sinsuat’s assailant was also killed in an ensuing shootout with his security escorts.
The third fatality is a villager who was trapped in the crossfire, according to initial reports from barangay officials and the local police.
Sinsuat was emerging from a mosque when he was approached and shot by the suspect. His companions returned fire, killing the suspect instantly