ZAMBOANGA CITY: Two people were killed and five others injured in an ambush Wednesday in Cotabato City in southern Philippines, reports said.

It said the victims were traveling in a van along Rabago Street when gunmen attacked them. Two of the passengers were instantly killed in the shooting. The wounded were rushed to a hospital, but their conditions remain unknown.

Police and soldiers arrived later at the site, but the attackers had already fled. No individual or group claimed responsibility for the ambush, but authorities are investigating the attack whether it connected to family feud or clan war, or politics. Among those in the van was village leader.

Gun attacks and random killings are not uncommon in Cotabato which is also notorious for ransom kidnappings.