Lying in the street with her blood-stained Barbie doll blasted from her hand, a dead teenager has become the latest victim of the Philippines war on drugs.

The young girl was shot dead alongside her older friend by unknown motorcycle-riding gunmen in an alley in Manila.

Afterwards, the shooters left a cardboard sign on the body of her 21-year-old male friend with the message 'You are a drug pusher, you are an animal'.

A teenage girl lies dead in the street after being gunned down as part of the Philippines crackdown on drugs

Police believe the girl was an innocent victim and it appeared her blood-stained Barbie doll had been blown out of her hands

As well as the doll, police recovered other items belonging to the youngster including a Hello kitty watch

And police now believe the girl may have been an innocent victim caught up in the shooting when the gunman tried to target her friend.

Pictures from the scene show the bloodstained teenager, 17, lying dead on the ground outside a house in a dark street.

Her Barbie doll can be seen close by and shows how it seems to have been blasted from her hand during the attack.

Other images show officers gathering up her belongings, which also includes a Hello Kitty watch while her weeping relatives look on devastated.

Pictures from the scene show the bloodstained teenager, 17, lying dead on the ground outside a house in a dark street with her older male friend

New Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte launched an anti-drugs crackdown when he came to office in June and at least 3,700 people have been killed

New Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte launched an anti-drugs crackdown when he came to office in June.

And at least 3,700 suspected drug dealers have been killed in less than four months.

Many are thought to have been gunned down by vigilante groups, who are paid in cash for each confirmed kill, with many leaving cards labelled pushers next to bodies to prove the hit.

The crackdown has attracted criticism from many in the international community, after the controversial Duterte pledged to kill 100,000 drug users and dealers and fill Manila Bay with their bodies.

And today the Philippines' police chief reprimanded officers and some senior generals for raising concerns with journalists about the country's war on drugs, telling subordinates to talk to him instead - if they were brave enough.

One of the dead girl's relatives cries and breaks down in the street after the teenager was shot dead

Relatives and friends of those killed look on behind police tape as officers investigate their deaths

Asked to comment on a Reuters report that highlighted widespread discrepancies in statistics related to Duterte's drugs crackdown, Ronald 'Bato' dela Rosa appeared irked at police and took a swipe at journalists for what he called 'unfair' reporting.

He said: 'Talk to me, but don't go to the media to talk about those things.

'Tell our men, the officers who had said this, if they had balls, they should talk to me.'

Dela Rosa, whose nickname means 'rock', said officers with grievances should tell their commanders or go to a panel dedicated to hearing internal complaints.

He added: 'They're undermining the efforts of the president,' he said, warning of possible charges of insubordination for not using approved channels.