2 soldiers wounded in clash with rebels in Compostela Valley

TAGUM CITY, Philippines—Two soldiers were wounded in an encounter with communist rebels in Montevista, Compostela Valley, on Wednesday, a military official said on Thursday.

Rifles, an improvised explosive device, and bomb-making materials were recovered after the 10 a.m. clash in San Vicente village, Lt. Col. Cesar Molina, commander of the Army’s 25th Infantry Battalion, said.

Molina said his men were on patrol after receiving a report  on the presence of armed men believed to be New People’s Army insurgents when they came under fire.

“We have two wounded on the government side,” Molina told the Philippine Daily Inquirer in a text message, without providing the names of the casualties.

He said the gun battle lasted for 30 minutes, with the rebels fleeing, possibly with their own casualties.

“Pursuit operations … are still on-going,” said Molina.

Lt. Col. Lyndon Paniza, spokesperson of the Army’s 10th Infantry Division, said soldiers recovered at the encounter site M-16 and  .30-cal.  Carbine rifles, an improvised explosive device, a hand grenade, bomb-making materials and personal effects believed left by the fleeing rebels.