22 October 2015•Update: 22 October 2015
By Roy Ramos and Hader Glang
MANILA
A former rebel integrated into the Philippines army under the terms of the 1996 peace process shot five of his comrades dead Thursday morning before he himself was shot and killed by troops.
In a statement emailed to Anadolu Agency, Col. Rolando Joselito Bautista, Joint Task Group Basilan commander, said Corporal Tahiruddinn Taha of the 64th Infantry Brigade ran amok and shot his comrades-in-arms inside a military camp in Sumisip town at 8:45 a.m. (0145GMT).
"The incident transpired while the commanding officer of the unit was conducting troop information and education among his personnel when a soldier went amok," Bautista said.
Army spokesperson Col. Benjamin Hao told the state-run Philippine News Agency that Taha was a 37-year-old mortar gunner of Bravo Company, and a native of Indanan, Sulu and had been in the army for 12 years.
"We have no derogatory records on Taha," Hao added.
He said around 20-30 people were conducting bible study when Taha fired an M-16 rifle from the back of the room in a long sweeping burst.
Outside of the five men, Taha also shot and wounded eight soldiers and one civilian before he was shot dead, Hao added.
Among those killed were a first and second lieutenant and four enlisted personnel, while the nine wounded included eight military personnel and one civilian.
Bautista said that prior to the incident, the culprit had just returned from rest and recreation leave to settle family problems in his hometown of Indanan, Sulu.
"The culprit might be experiencing post traumatic disorder brought by combat stress from the series of combat operations, his experience from the blast of improvised explosive device bombings and aggravated by family problems," he added.
A medical and psychological team is to be deployed to the military facility to investigate the cause of the incident and the army have also sought police help.
Tao was one of many Moro National Liberation Front rebels integrated into the army after the rebel group signed a peace agreement with the Philippine government in 1996.
