Suspected NPA killed in Lanao del Sur clash

ILIGAN CITY, Philippines —-A suspected New People’s Army (NPA) rebel was killed in a clash with government troops in Lanao del Sur on Saturday, April 25.

According to a report from the Public Affairs Office of the Army’s 1st Infantry Division, the soldiers were operating against and eventually overran the lair of around 20 gunmen in Barangay Buntalis of Lumba-Bayabao town.

The soldiers seized three high-powered firearms and 36 sacks of rice.

Col. Jose Maria Cuerpo, commander of the Army’s 103rd Infantry Brigade, said residents informed them about the presence of armed men in their community.

The group, according to Cuerpo, is the same one operating in the hinterland boundaries of Bukidnon, Lanao del Sur, and Iligan City.

He added that previous offensives against government security forces in Bukidnon are attributed to the group.

Cuerpo said the soldiers gave the suspected NPA rebel a decent burial in the area where the clash took place.

/MUF