Manila (DPA) - Two security escorts of a town mayor in the southern Philippines were killed, while the official was wounded in an ambush led by a rival cousin, the military said Monday.
Naoim Dipatuan, mayor of Bacolod-Kalaw town in Lanao del Sur province, 840 kms south of Manila, and his security escorts were on their way to a mosque on Saturday when they were attacked.
A military report said Dipatuan and his companions were ''ambushed by the group of his cousin Diarangan Dipatuan, armed with handguns and M-16 rifles.''
The mayor was wounded, while two security escorts were killed, the report added.
Authorities were still investigating the incident, but the military noted that the wives of the rival cousins ''were competing'' for a position in the education department's office in the area.
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