Abu Sayyaf extremists fatally shot at least 17 villagers in the southern Philippines on Monday in a bloody road attack that marred the celebration of the end of Ramadan in Sulu, Philippines.

The militant gunmen attacked the civilians as the latter rode two vans on their way to celebrate the end of the Muslims' month-long fasting with their relatives in the region. The attack, which is among the bloodiest ones carried out by Abu Sayyaf recently, also left a dozen villagers injured, the Associated Press reported.

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According to marine Brigadier General Martin Pinto and other army officers, between 40 and 40 Abu Sayyaf members carried out the attack in Talipao, a coastal village in the predominantly Muslim province of Sulu. The militants, which managed to thrive in the jungle amidst U.S.-backed Philippines military campaigns, used assault rifles in the attack.

Although the motive for the bloody shoot down is yet to be confirmed, Pinto said it was probably triggered by a family feud with some of the extremists.

Fifteen of the travelers died as the gunmen opened fire on their vehicles, marine officials in charge of pursuing the attackers said. Of the wounded villagers, two died later on in the hospital.

Four of those who died were members of the Barangay Police Action Team, a security force in Talipao comprised of civilians assisting the military in its efforts to fight the Abu Sayyaf.

The Abu Sayyaf, an extremist group formed in the early 1990s in southern Philippines, currently has 300 armed fighters belonging to various factions. Government offensives crippled the group and it now relies mostly on kidnap-for-ransom operations to survive.

At present, the militant group holds 10 hostages in their jungle-based camps. Among their victims are two German tourists abducted in April and a Dutch and Swiss birdwatchers seized two years ago.

The Abu Sayyaf is a Muslim insurgent group that wants to establish a bigger autonomous region for Muslims in the southern region of the predominantly Catholic country. The main rebel group in the Philippines, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, has 11,000 members.

TagsAbu Sayyaf, Ramadan, Muslim extremists