ISABELA CITY, Basilan -- Four persons were killed and several were wounded in an firefight between members of two warring clans in Hadji Mohammad Ajul townahead of Monday's mid-term elections, the military said Sunday.

Brig. Gen. Alvin Luzon, 101st Infantry Brigade commander, said the firefight ensued around 8 am Sunday in the island village of Langil, Hadji Mohammad Ajul.

Luzon said the protagonists are followers of former village chief Almujir Camlian and Mohammad Ajul Mayor Talib Pawaki.

Luzon said they have yet to find out the identities of the fatalities.

He said based on reports from authorities that several families have fled.

Policemen from Hadji Mohammad Ajul and Special Action Force (SAF) were sent to Langil Island to defuse the tension.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has listed eight areas in Hadji Mohammad Ajul and Lamitan City as under the "yellow" category.

Yellow areas have a history of political unrest or election-related incidents. DMS