MANILA (AFP) - Police in the Philippines killed 13 members of a criminal gang in a shootout on Sunday, the third violent incident within days amid widespread calls for stricter gun controls.

The battle erupted after the gunmen in two vehicles tried to smash through a police checkpoint near the town of Atimonan, according to the national police headquarters' operations centre.

A police statement said one senior police officer was wounded and taken to hospital. It said 10 firearms were recovered from the gang members, including an M16 assault rifle.

No other details of the incident in the town 173 km southeast of Manila were available.

-- Courtesy of The Straits Times