July 13, 2007, Inquirer, Imam's killing may have triggered beheadings, by Julie Alipala,

July 13, 2007, Inquirer, Imam's killing may have triggered beheadings, by Julie Alipala,

ALBARKA, BASILAN -- The gruesome killing of an imam (religious leader) in the village of Ginanta here might have prompted members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to attack a Marine contingent, according to the town mayor.

Ustadz Matarul Hakim Alkanul, who was partially blind, was found dead near his house in the morning of July 10 in Ginanta, Mayor Jakilan Karam told the Philippine Daily Inquirer, parent company of INQUIRER.net.

The imam’s body was riddled with bullets, his hands and feet tied with rope, Karam said.

Hours after Alkanul’s body was discovered, Marines searching for kidnapped Italian priest Giancarlo Bossi were ambushed by MILF forces in the village. Fourteen soldiers were killed while nine others were wounded. Ten of the fatalities were beheaded.

“Because of what happened to the only imam here, the people were angry,” Karam said in Filipino.

Even so, Karam and police officials could not say who was behind the imam’s killing.

Brig. Gen. Ramiro Alivio, 1st Marine Brigade commander, denied any military involvement in the death of the imam.

“They just concocted that story. If indeed there was an imam killed or wounded, he might have been caught in the crossfire. But as far as we are concerned, we don’t execute people,” Alivio said.

Deep hatred

The Marines were on their way back to their headquarters in Campo Uno in Lamitan City when they were ambushed, he said.

Tipo-Tipo town is a known stronghold of the MILF led by Hamsa Sapanton, according to Maj. Gen. Raymundo Ferrer, 4th Infantry Division commander.

"I remember that at the height of the campaign against the Abu Sayyaf Group, there were no reported or monitored encounters in the area," Ferrer said. "Most of the engagements against these bandits were in Sumisip and Tuburan."

Karam, however, could not say who was behind the beheading of the 10 soldiers.

"But you could see the deep hatred," he said.

No man's land

Senior Supt. Salik Macapantar, Basilan police chief, confirmed the killing of Alkanul, "but we are still investigating if the mutilation (of the Marines) had something to do with the killing of the imam."

Albarka is one of three newly created towns here. It used to be part of Tipo-Tipo municipality.

Ginanta is now considered a no-man’s land. Some 2,000 residents had abandoned their homes since Tuesday, Karam said.

Three neighboring villages -- Linungan, Magtawa and Makalang -- had also been deserted by their residents who fled to Tuburan and Lamitan towns.

"We don’t have an evacuation center here," Karam said.