TAGUM CITY—Government troops continued pursuing a band of communist New People’s Army (NPA) rebels who raided a militia detachment in Nabunturan town, Compostela Valley on Saturday afternoon, burning bunkers and taking with them over a dozen firearms.

The attack on a militia patrol base in the village of Linda came when about 30 rebels disguising as soldiers swooped down on the outpost at around 2 p.m., said Compostela Valley police director Supt. Ronald dela Rosa.

The detachment under the 72nd Cafgu Battalion and situated some 2 kilometers from the national highway was weakly defended as half of the eight-man team manning the post and led by a certain Corporal Tahanlangit have descended to the barangay proper to check on a report about an unidentified armed man, Dela Rosa said.

“Those who remained in the detachment were easily overpowered by the military uniformed-rebels and were disarmed at gunpoint. The rest who have returned from the barangay proper engaged the attackers,” Dela Rosa said.

The detachment is located some 400 meters from the barangay hall.

He said a firefight raged on for 30 minutes after the rebels sacked the armory and emptied 14 Garand rifles, before fleeing towards the hinterlands of Barangay Bayabas as reinforcements from the police’s 1102nd provincial mobile group (PMG) under Chief Insp. Rolly Albaña and from the Army’s Special Forces Battalion began arriving.

The attackers also set on fire the five bunkers inside the camp, he said.

No casualties from either side were reported, Dela Rosa added. Frinston Lim, Inquirer Mindanao