ZAMBOANGA CITY -- Gunmen killed seven policemen in an ambush Sunday after their comrades shot to death two non-combatant soldiers in a separate attack in Basilan province Saturday night.

Navy Rear Admiral Alex Pama said that suspected Abu Sayyaf gunmen opened fire Sunday on a police convoy negotiating a dirt road in far-flung Sumisip town in Basilan, killing seven policemen. Two other policemen survived the ambush and were taken to a hospital.

The policemen were returning to a camp in nearby Maluso town after escorting a Basilan town mayor, who has backed recent offensives against Abu Sayyaf bandits. The gunmen apparently thought the mayor was in the police convoy when they attacked, Pama said.

The gunmen may have wanted to avenge the loss of several fighters during recent marine offensives and the recent escape of a lending company employee, whom the militants have held for months in the hope of getting a ransom payment, Pama added.

Basilan police chief Salik Macapantar said that up to 100 suspected Abu Sayyaf bandits staged the ambush. Army troops, marines and policemen were pursuing the attackers.

"We were scoring. We were moving to finish them off," Macapantar said. "This is what happens when policemen really go out there to try to end lawlessness."

In a separate attack late Saturday, another group of suspected Abu Sayyaf bandits killed two unarmed soldiers involved in the construction of a school in nearby Tipo-Tipo town, also in Basilan.

The slain soldiers were identified as Technical Sergeant Luciano Abcede and Private First Class Danny Salian, both detailed at the 55th Engineering Brigade.

The soldiers walked off a school construction site to buy cigarettes when they were fired upon, Pama said. The attackers may have thought the soldiers had guns they could steal.

First Lieutenant Steffani Cacho, Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom) information officer, said the incident took place around 8:40 p.m. Saturday.

The military engineering battalion had been tasked to undertake government projects in dangerous areas where civilian contractors shy away since they are being harassed by lawless elements.

"This is pure murder of unarmed non-combatants who were helping the town build a school," Pama said.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Sunday condemned both the killing of the two military engineers and the subsequent killing of seven policemen.

Lieutenant Colonel Romeo Brawner, AFP public affairs officer, said it was unfortunate that non-combatant soldiers would not be spared by the rogue members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

Brawner said the two were among the many military engineers deployed to Basilan principally to construct a school building at the Tipo-tipo Elementary School. The project is supervised by the National Development and Support Command (NDSC) and is part of the government's efforts to alleviate the living condition in remote areas.

“Unfortunately, this group attacked our soldiers involved in the construction of school buildings. Two of our engineers died,” said Brawner, adding that the soldiers were unarmed at the time of the incident.

The official said the construction in Tipo-tipo will continue despite the attack, noting that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the military's Commander-in-Chief, has ordered the military to fast track the completion of such development projects.

“This construction will not be affected despite this incident. Our development projects will not stopped by such incidents,” said Brawner. (Bong Garcia/VR/AP/Sunnex)