Filipino Mayor Among 10 Dead in Clash With Anti-Drug Police

Philippine anti-narcotics officers gunned down a town mayor and nine of his men in a clash Friday in one of the bloodiest operations since President Rodrigo Duterte launched a crackdown on illegal drugs.

Mayor Samsudin Dimaukom of Datu Saudi Ampatuan town, who was killed with the nine others, has been publicly named by Duterte among many politicians he accused of involvement in illegal drugs as part of a shame campaign.

In August, Duterte read out the names of more than 150 officials allegedly linked to illegal drugs. He ordered them to surrender to authorities immediately or be hunted down. The mayor had turned himself in to police and denied he was involved in the illegal drug trade. He had told the media that he was fighting illegal drugs himself and supported Duterte’s crackdown.

“It was a legitimate anti-drug operation but the subjects opened fire on our troops,” regional police official Superintendent Romeo Galgo Jr. told reporters.

Read More- New York Times

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