2 suspected NPAs killed in clash – AFP
By Delfin Mallari Jr.
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 01:24:00 11/20/2008
Filed Under: Regional authorities, Armed conflict, rebellion
LUCENA CITY – Two alleged New People’s Army rebels were killed in an encounter with Army soldiers in San Miguel town in Catanduanes early Wednesday morning, the military said.
Capt. Leah Santiago, spokesperson of the Armed Forces’ Southern Luzon Command in Camp Nakar, said that at around 5 a.m., a patrol team led by one Lieutenant Liquido chanced upon about 20 NPA rebels in Barangay San Marcos.
A 45-minute firefight immediately followed, after which the guerrillas escaped, leaving behind two dead bodies of their still unidentified comrades.
The government forces recovered one M-16 and one M-14 rifles at the scene.
No casualty was reported among the government troops, according to Santiago.
“The troops were tracking down the terrorists. We believe that some of them were heavily injured based on the information of residents living along the escape route,” she said.
The NPA, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, has been waging a protracted guerrilla war since the late 1960s.
Peace talks between the government and the insurgents bogged down in August 2004 after rebel leaders protested their inclusion in the US and the European Union’s lists of terrorist organizations.
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