COTABATO CITY – Three people, including a 3-month-old baby, were killed in an ambush along the national highway in Radjah Buayan, Maguindanao del Sur, on Thursday afternoon, December 12.
Radjah Buayan Mayor Bai Maruja Ampatuan Mastura identified the victims as Harrah Jinn Utto Lumenda, her infant daughter, and Nunokan Manalindo. All were residents of the town.
Another passenger, Bai Kong Lumenda Utto, was injured and is currently receiving medical care at an undisclosed hospital.
According to police reports, the victims were traveling in a gray minivan driven by Manalindo when unidentified gunmen attacked.
Mayor Mastura revealed that Harrah Jinn Utto Lumenda was the wife of her personal security escort, a military officer assigned to the 34th Infantry Battalion.
Radjah Buayan police chief Lieutenant Argie Eyana said investigators recovered one empty shell and three fired slugs of an unidentified caliber at the scene.
The motive for the ambush has not yet been determined, and authorities have launched a manhunt for the suspects.