COTABATO CITY — Three soldiers were wounded when gunmen fired assault rifles and grenade projectiles at an Army outpost in Campo Uno in Lamitan City on Wednesday.

Officials of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region and the Western Mindanao Command told reporters on Thursday, that the wounded soldiers belong to the Army’s 18th Infantry Battalion (IB), which covers Lamitan City and nearby towns.

Local executives said the gunmen approached the 18th IB’s detachment in Barangay Campo Uno from two directions and opened fire.

The soldiers inside the detachment returned fire, preventing their attackers from closing in.

Three soldiers in the roadside Army base, a corporal and two privates, were wounded in the ensuing gunfight.

Their attackers scampered away when they sensed that Army and police reinforcements, backed by volunteer community watchmen, were getting close.

Villagers reported that the armed men behind the atrocity are extortionists, whose movement in Lamitan City became difficult after local officials, led by Mayor Roderick H. Furigay and the 18th IB set up Army outposts in strategic areas in the city to protect local traders.

Mr. Furigay, chairman of the Lamitan City Peace and Order Council, has condemned the incident that triggered panic among residents of Barangay Campo Uno.

He offered a cash incentive for any informant who can help the police identify the gunmen behind it for prosecution. — John Felix M. Unson

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