Patikul, Philippines - GUNMEN attacked a group of Christian families in the southern Philippines yesterday, leaving at least six dead on the island of Jolo, a mainly Muslim island hotbed of Islamic militants, police said.
The apparently sectarian violence in the town of Patikul occurred in a cluster of houses behind a Philippine Marine camp, and came less than three weeks before a small group of US soldiers deploy on the island for joint military exercises.
At least five unidentified gunmen opened fire on three thatch houses before dawn, killing three men.
The Muslim wife of one of the victims and their eight-month old baby girl were killed along with the teenage daughter of one of the other male victims.
One child wounded in the attack told reporters that the gunmen knocked on their doors to inquire if the families were Christian or Muslim.
They then left but returned a few minutes later, firing their guns at the houses.
Patikul is a known hotbed of the Abu Sayyaf, a Muslim extremist group linked by both Washington and Manila to the Al-Qaeda network.
The US State Department has tagged the Abu Sayyaf, or Bearer of the Sword, a "foreign terrorist organisation" and has put up millions of dollars for the capture of its leaders.
The Philippine government has blamed the group for a string of bombings and kidnappings and murders in the south, mostly targeting Christians and foreigners, including the death of two American hostages abducted in 2002.
US troops are to begin month-long exercises on Jolo on February 20. Their planned deployment has raised fears of possible Abu Sayyaf attacks.