Eight killed in Philippine shooting spree

(Recasts with more men involved)

MANILA, May 19 (Reuters) - Several Philippine men sprayed houses in a farming village outside Manila with bursts of automatic weapon fire, killing eight people, most of them sleeping children, police said on Monday.

Police had earlier suspected one man was responsible for the shooting on Sunday night, but regional police chief Ricardo Padilla told Reuters several men were involved and that an old feud was believed to be the motive.

"We have received information that this could be a revenge killing because of a long-standing family feud," Padilla said.

They said the men escaped after the shooting near the town of Calamba. Five of the victims were children.

At least six people were wounded, police said, adding that the victims were all from one extended family.

Empty shells from M-16 rifles were recovered, they said.

The shooting comes two days after gunmen killed 10 employees of a bank in the nearby town of Cabuyao and emptied its vault. Nine of the dead were found lying on the floor of the branch while one man succumbed in hospital of gunshot injuries in the head.

No arrests have been made. (Reporting by Manny Mogato; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Sanjeev Miglani)