GOVERNMENT security forces have been deployed to track down a group of lawless elements involved in the attack of a military detachment in a remote town of Zamboanga del Norte.
Zamboanga del Norte Police Director Edwin Wagan said the incident occurred around 4:40 p.m. Tuesday, January 3, in the village of San Vicente, Sirawai municipality.
Wagan said no one was either killed or wounded in the attack of the detachment that belongs to the Army’s 42nd Infantry Battalion.
He said the troops managed to fight back and repel the attackers led by Yusop Jamaa and Yacob Isnain, alias Bating.
The police director said the attackers belong to the group of lawless elements headed by a certain Hadji Kandatin based in the village of Sipakit, Sirawai.
Wagan said 130 individuals have evacuated to safer areas for fear of their lives.
Security measures have been strengthened by both the police and military forces to prevent a repetition of the incident, he added. (Bong Garcia)