Manila: Police say about 30 hooded attackers, believed to be Abu Sayyaf militants, shot and hacked horrified victims as they ran for their lives in the southern Philippines.
Four people died and six were wounded in the ambush on a village road.
Antonio Mendoza, police chief for the island province of Basilan, said Thursday the suspected Al Qaida-linked militants apparently were trying to divert government troops from a weekslong offensive in a nearby town.
Most of the victims were commuters in a passenger jeep going home from Basilan's capital of Isabela City.
The attackers were positioned on a hill and opened fire with rifles. Mendoza said two passengers died instantly.
Regional military commander Lt. Gen. Benjamin Dolorfino said the attackers fled toward a mountainous jungle, where troops were hunting for them.
