MANILA, Philippines?Lying on the dirt in a hilly village in Ampatuan town, the 57 victims of the Nov. 23 massacre were shot either in the mouth, chest or head, with Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. of Datu Unsay town delivering the final bullets from his baby armalite to make sure they were all dead.

But the women appeared to have been subjected to additional depravities, such as being shot in the genitals and having other "vital parts" mutilated with knives by the killers, police said.

The Philippine National Police on Wednesday disclosed these gory details of how Ampatuan, a member of the ruling clan in Maguindanao, allegedly carried out the killings, after piecing together accounts of a civilian volunteer and a police officer who both claimed to have witnessed the carnage three weeks ago.

Ampatuan has been named as a prime suspect in the Nov. 23 massacre in the municipality of Ampatuan, the worst election-related violence yet in Philippine history.

"When some of them were still alive, Andal Jr. will come close and shoot again. Reportedly, all of them were being followed up by [the mayor]," said Senior Supt. Ericson Velasquez, head investigator of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, at a press conference on Wednesday.

Velasquez was reading from a summary of the sworn affidavits of civilian volunteer organization member Takipan Dilun and PO1 Rainer Ebus.

Velasquez said that the witnesses? claims that all the victims were shot at close range?about two feet away?by Ampatuan and his men, were corroborated by laboratory tests conducted by the PNP.

CIDG Chief Supt. Raul Castañeda also said during the press briefing at Camp Crame that Dilun and Ebus were the first witnesses to directly point to Ampatuan Jr. as being behind the massacre.

The two have been named respondents in a multiple murder case but it is up to the courts to determine if they could be discharged from the charges and made state witnesses, added Castañeda.

PNP Director General Jesus Verzosa said that, based on the accounts of the two witnesses, Ampatuan used an M-16 baby armalite when he shot the victims.

According to Ebus, who said he was with Ampatuan Jr. when they hijacked the convoy of the Mangudadatus on its way to the local elections office in Shariff Aguak on Nov. 23, they had set up checkpoints along the national highway to intercept the convoy.

"The testimonies showed that there was a plan to abduct the group of the Mangudadatus not only on the 23rd of November. The plan was hatched specifically on the start of the filing of the certificate of candidacies,? disclosed Velasquez.

He was referring to the candidacy of Vice Mayor Esmael Mangudadatu of Buluan town who had announced a plan to run for governor of Maguindanao against Andal Ampatuan Jr. Andal Ampatuan Sr. is the current governor.

Quoting Ebu's sworn affidavit, Velasquez said that armed supporters of Ampatuan Jr. started manning the checkpoints as early as Nov. 20, the day the Commission on Elections started the registration of candidates for the 2010 elections.

"That's why they were all able to put all their forces along the national highway in order to ensure that the Mangudadatu convoy will be checked," continued Velasquez.

Ebus claimed that on Nov. 23, Ampatuan and his party?also traveling in a convoy?caught up with the Mangudadatus and the journalists who were on board eight vehicles, after the Mangudadatu convoy was blocked at a checkpoint manned by Chief Insp. Sukarno Dicay, another respondent in the multiple murder case.

Ampatuan and his group allegedly accosted the Mangudadatu party and forcibly took them to the hilly portion of Sitio Masalay, some 2.5 kilometers away from the checkpoint.

Ebus pointed out in his affidavit that he was there when Ampatuan ordered the police "not to mind" what he and the men with him were doing.

Aside from the mayor, Dicay identified Bahnarin Ampatuan, Sukarno Badal, Ulo Ampatuan, Muhamad Sangki and Tami Masukat as among those present at the checkpoint.

Ebus also identified Datu Ipi Ampatuan, Datu Harris Ampatuan, Datu Moning Ampatuan, nine police officers, four Army sergeants and a master sergeant, said Velasquez.

At the massacre site, members of the Mangudadadtu convoy tried to scamper to safety when Ampatuan Jr. and Vice Mayor Datu Kanor allegedly began shooting.

"They began jumping out of the vehicle to escape but the civilian volunteers who saw them escaping began shooting at them too,? said Velasquez, still reading excerpts from Ebus' statements.

It was allegedly Ampatuan Jr. who shot at the women and members of the Mangudadatu family while still inside the car, unable to escape, according to Ebus.

After allegedly witnessing the incident, he retreated to a place he did not identify and hid inside a vehicle, added Ebus.

At the press briefing, Verzosa also announced that so far the police have identified 161 suspects in the massacre.

Of the number, 100 were members of the paramilitary force who have been positively identified by witnesses and were objects of a manhunt being conducted by the police and the military.

Majority of these suspects were part of the private security force of Ampatuan in Datu Unsay town, said Verzosa.

Sixty-eight were civilian volunteers of the police and the military operating in Datu Unsay; 17 in Shariff Aguak; 11 in Mamasapano; three in Datu Saudi and one in Sangki, he added.

"Reportedly, some of them have already joined the rebellious forces conducting rebellion in Maguindanao,? Verzosa told reporters.

"The PNP is very confident that evidence on hand is sufficient to prosecute the respondents,? said PNP Deputy Director General Jefferson Soriano.