Six persons, including a nine-month- old girl, were killed while five others were seriously wounded when some 20 heavily armed men opened fire on three houses for still unknown reasons in Patikul, Sulu, early yesterday morning.

Police authorities identified five of the six slain victims as Melanie Patinga, nine months old, Iting Fontanilla, Emma Kasipong, Sulma Patinga, and Pedro Kasipong.

Among those wounded were Nardo Patinga, Jason Patinga, Jennifer Fontanilla and Lucring Kasipong.

The wounded victims were rushed to the Sulu Public Hospital in Jolo town.

Reports relayed by the Sulu PNP Provincial Office to Camp Crame said the victims were sleeping inside three houses at Sitio Palar, Barangay Liang, Patikul, Sulu when the armed men strafed the houses with high powered firearms at about 1:30 a.m.

Witnesses who saw the gunmen fleeing said the suspects were clad in camouflage pants and were armed with rifles and handguns.

According to reports, the incident occurred 350 meters away from the headquarters of the 3rd Marine Brigade in Patikul town.

Elements of the Patikul Municipal Police Station were dispatched to hunt the suspects.

This developed as Muslim human rights groups yesterday denounced the reported massacre of six people, including an nine-month old child, in Patikul, Sulu.

"All Muslims grieve the brutal massacre that took away six innocent lives today, including that of an nine-month old child. We condemn this act in the strongest terms. Their death urges us to further advance the Bangsamoro people’s fight for genuine justice for all Muslims who have always been victims of unjust crimes," said Ren Jallaludin Ropeta, vice chairperson of the Moro- Christian Peoples’ Alliance (MCPA).

Meanwhile, Jolo Councilor Cocoy Tulawie, vice chairperson of the SUARA Bangsamoro Party, expressed fears over the growing rate of violence in Sulu which he said has become very apparent in the past few days.

"We are afraid that Sulu is on the brink of another phase of deadly violence. Last Thursday, a strafing incident in Busbus, Jolo caused 20 Muslims to suffer from serious bullet wounds. Today, six Muslims were massacred. This I fear is a calibrated move to sow fear and panic among the people," he said.

"This is undeniably the work of the military which is on its usual game of propping up a conflict scenario in order to justify US military presence in Sulu," Tulawie said. "Since the opposition against the USRP war games heightened, this spate of violent incidents erupted. But these attacks won’t have us cowed, we will demand stronger than ever the pull-out of US troops from our island."

Ropeta traced the causes of the current hostilities in Sulu to the two clashes that erupted in Sulu on February and November last year.

"In February last year, three members of the Padiwan family were also brutally slain right in their own home. Three children survived to tell how their mother, father and brother were shot by a military man. This massacre triggered another cycle of AFP-MNLF hostilities which is tantamount to allout-wars for more military aid and wider US military intervention in Sulu and the rest of Mindanao," Ropeta said.

MCPA appealed to all Muslims and Christians alike to remain united amid the real and present threats to the people and peace in Sulu and Mindanao. It also called for the immediate stop of all US- RP war games in Sulu as well as in other areas.