Manila, Philippines - At least seven people were killed while a village captain was wounded in a cult war in a mountainous area in Negros Oriental province before dawn Wednesday, a local paper reported, quoting the police and military.
The incident occurred at 1 a.m. at Kalamtukan village in Bayawan City, 100 kilometers from Dumaguete City, the Visayan Daily Star (www.visayandailystar.com) reported Thursday
It said the killings started when an undetermined number of people attacked the Pulahan, a religious group headed by Kalamtukan village chief Felipe Condes Jr., who was injured.
The fatalities included Condes' father Felipe Sr., 64; and Felipe Jr.'s son John Quen, 24; Ranie Carbajosa, 17 and brother Rayan, 23.
Arrested was Nazario Carbajosa, 43, one of the suspected attackers.
Carbajosa's group used shotguns, handguns and hand grenades in the confrontation with the Pulahan cult group and its "rival" armed civilian group "Mac Forcel," said provincial police director Senior Superintendent Augusto Marquez Jr.
Marquez directed the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and the Scene of the Crime Operatives to help in the investigation.
Lt. Col. Bernard Neri, commander of the Army's 79th Infantry Battalion, said the incident does not appear to be insurgency-related.
Neri said initial reports gathered by his command showed the incident was a family conflict, adding that there have been no reports of insurgency-related activities in the village.
