2 cops killed in Sabah amid standoff

KUALA LUMPUR (Xinhua) - Two policemen were killed in an ambush in Malaysia's Sabah state, amid continued standoff between security forces and Sulu gunmen, police said Sunday.

Sabah police chief Hamza Taib told a local TV channel that the two were shot Saturday evening by unidentified gunmen during a police operation in a village in Semporna, some 200 kilometers from the Tanduo village where the Royal Army of the Sulu Sultanate holed up.

The police were investigating whether the group of less than 10 was related to the Sulu intruders, Hamza said.

The area has been in tense situation after a gunfight broke out between the security forces and the Sulu group Friday morning in which two police commandos and 12 gunmen were killed.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak urged the group to surrender or would face tough actions.

The Malaysian authorities have been in a standoff since three weeks ago with the group of about 180 Filipinos, including some heavily armed. They were followers of Philippine Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III based in the country's restive south. Kiram insisted Sabah was his home and that his Sulu sultanate once controlled parts of Borneo.