Thirteen killed in shootout in southern Philippines hinh anh 1Philippine police officers (Photo: AFP/VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) - Thirteen people, including a police officer, were killed and four others wounded before dawn on January 23 during a police operation in the Philippines' southern Maguindanao province, police said.

The police said the shootout erupted when police went to the hideout of a fugitive in Sultan Kudarat town at around 3 am to serve an arrest warrant for frustrated murder, robbery with murder, and homicide, China's Xinhua News Agency reported.

The suspect and his armed followers resisted arrest and allegedly fired at the arresting team, resulting in a shootout that lasted five hours, the police said, adding that four policemen were wounded in the incident.

The police recovered six M16 assault rifles, two .45 caliber pistols, one homemade .50-caliber Barret sniper rifle, one M14 rifle, one light automatic rifle, and a .22 caliber rifle at the clash site./.
VNA