Unarmed Army engineer shot dead in Mamasapano

MAGUINDANAO – Bandits shot dead Tuesday morning an unarmed Army engineerconstructing a learning facility in Barangay Tukanalipao in Mamasapano, Maguindanao.Senior Superintendent Agustin Tello, Maguindanao’s provincial police director, said Cpl. Tamano Macadatar was approached by a gunman brandishing a .30 caliber M1 Garand Rifle and shot him repeatedly, killing him instantly.Macadatar belonged to the 524thEngineer Battalion, a component unit of the Army’s 52nd Engineer Brigade.Macadatar and companions in the same unit are helping the Teach Peace, Build Peace Foundation construct a learning center for residents of Barangay Tukanalipao, scene of the infamous January 25, 2015 Mamasapano incident. The Mamasapano incident, which left 44 personnel of the police’s elite Special Action Force, 17 guerillas of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and five innocent civilians dead nearly caused the collapse of Malacañang’s now 19-year diplomatic overture with the MILF.Tello said and//s.igmhb.com/click?v=UEg6MTI4Nzc4OjUxMzg6aW52ZXN0aWdhdGU6Yjg4OTQwZGEwMjdmYTg5NTA5NjU4ODViOGYwNTMyN2Y6ei0yNTI3LTg4NTUyMzM3Ond3dy5uZGJjbmV3cy5jb20ucGg6Mzg2ODc5OjMxOWM4NmJhMzVmYTcxMmQ2MGI1NDAxOTc3ZWU5YTgzOjEyOWQ0MTRhZmMwMjQzYzU4NWI1ZDJiYjE1NTgzOTVhOjA6ZGF0YV9zcyw3Mjh4MTM2NjtkYXRhX3JjLDE7ZGF0YV9mYixubzs6NTI0NjYwNDo6OjAuMDEandampsubid=g-88552337-caa79036323d4a5ebcf9d52fcfbd2403-andampdata_ss=728x1366andampdata_rc=1andampdata_fb=noandampdata_tagname=Aandampdata_ct=image_onlyandampdata_clickel=linkandampdata_sid=b9728ad5aa14f6218d382de8a774a841 investigators and//cdncache-a.akamaihd.net/items/it/img/arrow-10x10.png are now trying to establish the identity of the gunman who killed Macadatar.Army intelligence sources said besides the suspect, about ten other gunmen were positioned around the project site when Macadatar was gunned down.Officials of Army units in Mamasapano and nearby towns said they are certain the BIFF is responsible for the brutal murder of the unarmed Macadatar.The BIFF, which boasts of loyalty to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, was also tagged in the spate of bombings in central Mindanao the past ten days, reportedly perpetrated to avenge the deaths of members in recent military operations in Maguindanao.