MANILA, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- Two passengers were killed and eight wounded when unidentified armed men attacked the bus they were on board in Zamboanga del Norte in southern Philippines Wednesday morning, local media reports said Thursday.

    The incident occurred around 3 a.m., as the bus was leaving from the town of Gutalac, bound for the provincial capital of Dipolog city. Wounded passengers were brought to the nearby Liloy District Hospital.

    Philippine military officials are investigating the possibility that the ambushers mistook the bus for their target, due to the darkness, according to Major Ramon David Hontiveros, spokesperson of the Armed Forces of the Philippines's Western Mindanao Command.

    Hontiveros said the suspects fled the scene, leaving empty shells of M16 and M14 ammunition.