Philippine police kill three more drug suspects

Source: AFP

Manila (AFP) - Philippine police have killed three drug suspects in a shootout, officials said Sunday, the latest such deaths after the election of tough anti-crime firebrand Rodrigo Duterte as president.

A spate of recent criminal killings by police has spiked fears of a extra-judicial crackdown in the country after incoming leader Duterte vowed to stamp out crime by all means necessary.

Police were called to the home of a suspected drug dealer on the tiny island of Banacon in central Philippines before dawn Saturday when gunfire broke out between the suspect and police, leaving the accused and three associates injured.

The accused drug trafficker Rowen Secretaria and two unidentified men were pronounced dead after being taken to hospital, while the fourth was treated for gunshot wounds, local police officer Roel Lagora told AFP.

"The armed men shot at the raiding team several times, prompting the latter to defend themselves and return fire," Lagora told AFP by telephone, reading an official account of the incident.

Filipino police have killed 12 other drug suspects across the country in the past week, while unknown gunmen murdered two other men linked by police to illegal drugs.

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