DAVAO CITY – Two soldiers were wounded in a landmine explosion believed to have been set off by suspected New People’s Army guerrillas in an upland village here on Saturday, police said.
Chief Insp. Milgrace Driz, Southern Mindanao police regional spokesperson identified the victims as Sgt. Enrique Genon and Pfc. Jejomar Judan, members of Charlie Company of the Philippine Army’s 3rd Infantry Division.
Driz said troops onboard a KM military truck were traversing a road in Sitio Lower Camarag, Barangay Tambobong, Baguio district when an improvised explosive device (IED) went off, hitting
the troops and the vehicle.
The soldiers were able to get off the damaged truck and engage the rebels in a brief firefight.
There was no immediate report of rebel casualties.
Driz said the wounded troops were immediately brought to the nearest hospital for treatment. Soldiers recovered from the scene several bomb fragments.
The attack came just a day after the insurgents, in an apparent goodwill gesture, freed a police official they held captive for nearly seven months in North Cotabato.