Fatal homecoming for Marawi war hero

PAGADIAN CITY – Suspected communist assassins killed a government soldier - who just returned home after fighting local ISIS militants for 5 months in Marawi City – in a daring attack before dawn Tuesday at a billiard hall in Pagadian City in the southern Filipino province of Zamboanga del Sur.

Police said Corporal Rhuphel Lihay-lihay was fatally shot while in the middle of a game in Santa Maria village. The gunmen escaped on a motorcycle after repeatedly shooting the 39-year old infantryman.

Lihay-lihay was a member of the army’s 1st Infantry Division based in the province and recently arrived home from war. Police investigators recovered bullet shells, believed fired from .45-caliber pistol.

Police said it is still investigating the killing. No individual claimed responsibility for the attack, but suspicion fell heavily on the New People’s Army rebels who are actively operating in the Zamboanga Peninsula. The army did not release any statement on the killing of the soldier.

President Rodrigo Duterte suspended peace talks with the communist rebels after they refused to sign a cease-fire agreement, but communist leaders accused the tough-talking Filipino leader of reneging on his promise to free over 500 political detainees, mostly NPA leaders, jailed across the country. The NPA has been fighting for many decades now for the establishment of a communist state in the Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner)

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