Zamboanga, Feb 17 (AP) Gunmen wounded a provincial governor and killed four of his bodyguards in an attack on their convoy on Friday in a southern Philippine region with a long history of violent political conflicts and Muslim rebellion, officials said.

Lanao del Sur Governor Mamintal Alonto Adiong Jr. was shot in the waist, an aide was injured in the feet, and four bodyguards were killed by heavily armed men as their convoy passed through a village on the boundary of Lanao del Sur and Bukidnon provinces, police said.

Also Read | UK: Infant Dies in Tragic Bath Horror in Leicester After Toy Blocks Plughole.

Adiong and his aide were hospitalised in stable condition, Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong, a brother of the governor, said on Facebook.

Authorities did not immediately provide other details, including who was suspected of carrying out the attack.

Also Read | Flights To and From German Airports Cancelled as Staff Strike Over Pay, 300,000 Passengers Affected.

“The worst has passed. He's out of danger,” Zia Alonto Adiong said.

“We implore the authorities to act with urgency and utilise all legal means available to pursue and bring the perpetrators to justice.”

Lanao del Sur is part of a five-province Muslim autonomous region in the south of the largely Roman Catholic nation.

It is governed by former Muslim rebels in a transition arrangement under a 2014 peace pact with the government.

A large number of available firearms has often sparked violent political rivalries in the past.

In 2017, hundreds of militants affiliated with the Islamic State group laid siege to Marawi city in Lanao.

Troops quelled the siege after five months in a massive ground offensive backed by airstrikes that left more than 1,000 people dead, mostly militants, and the mosque-studded city in ruins.(AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)