MANILA, Philippines ? (UPDATE 2) Three residents near the mosque along Roxas Boulevard were killed by gunfire from a demolition team, a Muslim community leader said Wednesday, although police denied the report.

Abdelmanan Tanandato identified those he said were killed as Hakim Husman, 50, who was shot in the head; Rajid Batalo, 7, who was shot in the chest; and Yacob Macalnas, 20, who was shot in the side.

Tanandato told the Philippine Daily Inquirer that Batalo and Husman died on the spot when policemen fired their M16 rifle and 9-millimeter pistol.

Macalnas was brought to San Juan de Dios Hospital but later died while being treated, Tanandato said.

Senior Superintendent Raul Petrasanta disputed Tanandato?s claim, saying the police who accompanied the demolition team, fired warning shots but did not aim their guns at any of the protesters.

?There were few who were hurt, but no one died,? he said.

The Inquirer went to the hospital where the injured were said to have been brought. This reporter was told that two shanty residents were being treated for injuries. The hospital opted not to release their names without their permission.

The Inquirer was in the area while shanties were being torn down, but did not see dead bodies at the scene.

Florencio San Mateo, chief of the Pasay Traffic and Parking Management, admitted to the Inquirer that they had to fire a gun, which wounded a protester, because around 50 settlers were armed with a sumpak or an improvised gun, explosives that looked like molotov bombs, bottles and stones.

Eleven people were reported as having been injured during a confrontation between Muslim residents and enforcers of the clearing operation at the mosque.

Nine people from the demolition team suffered minor injuries caused by stones hurled by the squatters in the area.

Two men believed to be among the illegal settlers were hurt. One of them had a gunshot wound in the leg and was brought to the San Juan De Dios in Pasay City for medical treatment.

The tension ceased around 8:15 a.m. when the Muslims gave in to the police and demolition team.

The area being cleared will be turned into a commercial center.

Anak Mindanao partylist Representative Mujiv Hataman, who was interviewed live over radio dzMM, condemned the shooting and called for an investigation into the incident.

As part of the Muslim custom, the fatalities will be buried immediately at the Islamic Center nearby, the report said.