MANILA, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- Five people were killed in a suspected ambush before dawn on Thursday in the central Philippine Cebu City, local police said.
Police said the incident happened shortly before 4 a.m. local time in Malubog, one of the villages in the city.
The two bodies of the five victims were found inside a bullet-riddled van while the three others were found a few meters away from the van, police said, adding that there were multiple gunshot wounds in the bodies.
Police recovered some 30 empty bullet shells from the crime scene.
An investigation is underway to find out the perpetrators of the attack and the identities of the victims are still being ascertained.
However, initial police investigation showed the ambush may be related to illicit drug trafficking as the white crystalline substance believed to be methamphetamine hydrochloride and handguns were found in the van.
