A Philippine court has convicted a dismissed town mayor, who officials say is Chinese national, of human trafficking charges for helping establish an illegal online gaming and scam complex where hundreds of Chinese and other foreign workers where forced to conduct scams.

China should do more to battle the illegal online gambling and scam call centers run by Chinese criminal syndicates in Southeast Asian countries often using forced labor, a Philippine senator who led an investigation into the centers said Friday.

Philippine police have killed three detained militants linked to the Islamic State group after they stabbed a jail officer and briefly held a detained former opposition senator in a failed escape attempt at the police headquarters in the capital region.