16 Dead in Philippines Massacre

C O T A B A T O, Philippines, Aug. 5 -- Heavily armed men stopped three vehicles on a remote road in the southern Philippines and killed 16 people inside after robbing them, officials said today.

Ten other people were seriously injured in the attack Fridaynight in North Cotabato province, army Col. Harmogenes Esperonsaid. The fatalities included a 2-year-old boy, he said.

Survivors said the attackers wore military-style uniforms andwere armed with automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenadelaunchers, according to provincial police director Alex PaulMonteagudo.

Robbed, Then Shot

One survivor, Benjie Villasis, told radio station DXND thevictims were ordered out of their vehicles and robbed. Theattackers then ordered everyone back inside and opened fire on thegroup, he said.

Villasis said he survived by falling when he heard the gunfireand pretending to be dead underneath several bodies.

Another survivor, Ruben Donong, ran to a nearby village cryingthat there had been a massacre, said Ali Togan, who was in thevillage at the time.

Togan said he and several residents rushed to the site, wherethe car motors were still running. Togan said they found bodies inall the vehicles.

Police and military suspect the attackers were Muslim rebelsbelonging to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, according tomilitary chief of staff Gen. Angelo Reyes.

Donong said the attackers were speaking a dialect uncommon amongMoro Islamic Liberation Front members.

A spokesman for the Moro Islamic Liberation Front denied thatthe rebels were involved.

“No Muslim in their right mind would ever hurt anotherMuslim,” Eid Kabalu said.