By Edwin Fernandez

AMBUSH SITE. A police crime scene operative inspects a bullet-riddled vehicle in Datu Saudi Ampatuan, Maguindanao del Sur, on Tuesday (Feb. 17, 2026). An ambush killed the nephew of Shariff Aguak Mayor Akmad Ampatuan Sr. and wounded his brother. (Photo courtesy of PRO-BAR)

SHARIFF AGUAK, Maguindanao del Sur – A daylight ambush along a national highway in Datu Saudi Ampatuan town on Tuesday left one dead and two injured, including the brother of Shariff Aguak Mayor Akmad Ampatuan Sr., police reported.

Capt. Steffi Salanguit, spokesperson of the Police Regional Office – Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, said the victims were on board a black Nissan Livina traveling from Cotabato City to Shariff Aguak when a white mini-van without a license plate tailed them and opened fire with assault rifles at about 11 a.m.

Despite his injuries, the driver, Datu Morsid Ampatuan – the mayor’s nephew – managed to reach an Army checkpoint in Datu Unsay but later passed away at a hospital.

Injured were Yasser Ampatuan, 49, the mayor’s brother, and Lemon Bangen, 36, a resident of Datu Hofer Ampatuan. They are receiving treatment at the Bangsamoro Regional Medical Center.

Mayor Ampatuan Sr. survived a separate rocket-propelled grenade ambush in Shariff Aguak on Jan. 25.

Salanguit said the motive remains unknown and an investigation is ongoing. (PNA)