QUITO, July 29 (Xinhua) -- At least five people were killed at a three-story house following an armed assault early Tuesday in Ecuador's violence-torn Pacific coast province of Manabi, the online newspaper Primicias reported.

Police were sent to the scene after an emergency hotline report, and preliminary investigation results indicated that the attackers opened fire at the victims.

Four of the fatal victims had criminal records for various offenses, including illegal possession of a weapon, robbery, murder and trafficking of controlled substances, and the fifth was a 16-year-old boy.

National Police has attributed an escalation of violence in Manabi to a turf war between two dangerous criminal gangs in vying for control of drug trafficking, money laundering and extortion in the region. ■