Many dead in Philippine shootout
Many dead in gun battle between police and suspected robbers in Manila suburb.
Another policeman was wounded, Bataoil said.
He said investigators believe the assailants belonged to a gang whose members have posed as police officers.
He said two of the slain assalants were found wearing police-style bulletproof vests.
The gang has been blamed for the killing of bank teller and two guards of an armoured truck that was picking up money from a bank on the University of the Philippines campus last month.
Deadly gun battle
Police commandos stopped the men on a highway in the Paranaque area, triggering a gun battle in which 10 of the criminals died, Glen Tecson, a senior superintendent of police, said.
“While they were fleeing, they fired assault rifles and a grenade launcher,” he said.
Four of the men, who belong to a known robbery gang, escaped while an eight-year-old girl was among the bystanders killed.
Police could not confirm reports that the armed men intentionally fired on passers-by.
Lilia de Lima, a human rights commissioner, said her agency would look into the incident to make sure the police acted properly to protect the civilians.