Gunmen kill 12 in ambush on Philippines mayor
Police blame clan disputes for the violence in the restive southern island of Mindanao ahead of midterm elections next month
Gunmen killed 13 people in an ambush on a Philippine mayor, officials said yesterday. It was the deadliest of a string of violent incidents that have marred campaigning for May elections.
The attackers opened fire on a truck carrying Mayor Abdulmalik Manamparan and his supporters on southern Mindanao island late on Thursday, local military commander Colonel Ricardo Jalad said.
"They killed my granddaughter," Manamparan, 62, said from his hospital bed, where he was being treated for a shrapnel graze to his head.
A daughter of the mayor was also among the those killed, Jalad said. Twelve were killed on the spot, another one died later, and 10 were left wounded, including the mayor, police said.
A police official blamed the violence on long-running clan disputes by Muslim families in the troubled south.
President Benigno Aquino's spokeswoman, Abigail Valte, said the authorities were attempting to establish the identities and motives of the attackers.