Philippines ambush: Sixteen dead

Armed Police have increased patrolling in southern Philippines

Gunmen in southern Philippines have shot dead at least 16 people during what appears to have been a highway robbery.

At least 10 people were wounded and a number of others survived unharmed.

The massacre took place on Friday on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao. Many of those killed were children.

Local officials said about 100 armed men stopped three vehicles, including a minibus, and ordered the occupants to line up at the roadside. The gunmen then robbed the passengers of their cash and valuables before opening fire.

Phillippines authorities said Muslim separatist guerrillas carried out the killings but the main guerrilla group has denied that it was involved.

Area of ethnic clashes

The BBC's John McLean in Manila reports that the killings took place in the municipality of Carmen, an area where guerrillas of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) are active.

Violent ethnic clashes are common place in southern Philippines

The MILF is fighting for independence for the Muslim minority in the south of this mainly Christian country.

Local officials said most of the victims of the Carmen massacre were Christians but some were Muslims.

Series of civilan massacres

There have been two other massacres of civilians in Mindanao in recent weeks. On both occasions the authorities blamed the MILF, but the MILF denied responsibility.

Parts of Mindanao have a reputation for banditry but the dividing line between violence for political purposes and violence for profit is not always distinct.