Philippine mayor killed in prison shootout

A Philippine mayor named by the country’s president as being involved in the illegal drug trade was shot dead in jail on Saturday, according to police. 

He was killed in his jail cell in a purported gunbattle with officers in the second killing in a week of a politician linked to illegal drugs under the president's brutal crackdown.

Police say Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr. of Albuera town in central Leyte province and a fellow inmate were shot dead before dawn Saturday after they fired at officers who staged a raid in search of firearms and illegal drugs.

Last week, police killed another town mayor, Samsudin Dimaukom, and nine of his men allegedly in a gunbattle in the southern Philippines.

Espinosa and Dimaukom were among more than 160 officials named publicly by Duterte in August as part of a shame campaign.