Gunmen kill 9 in road ambush in southern Philippine town

COTABATO, Philippines (AP) — Gunmen in the southern Philippines have killed a Muslim rebel and eight of his companions in a road ambush authorities said was apparently sparked by a land dispute. Police and officials say attackers raked two SUVs with assault rifle fire Saturday in a remote farming village in Maguindanao province, killing nine people and wounding three others who were on their way to resolve a longstanding dispute. Many such clan disputes over land, money and politics have been settled violently in southern areas with weak law enforcement, large numbers of loose firearms and the presence of armed groups controlled by powerful clans and politicians. In 2009, the country’s worst politically motivated massacre left at least 57 people dead in the same region.