LEGAZPI CITY – A suspected New People’s Army (NPA) rebel was killed in an encounter with Philippine Army soldiers on Friday morning in a remote village in Daraga, Albay, according to a military report.
Army Captain John Paul Belleza, public affairs head of the 9th Infantry Division, said the Army troops were responding to information about sightings of armed men in Barangay Canarom at around 6 a.m. when they encountered 10 suspected NPA rebels.
The troops from the Army 93rd Reconnaissance engaged the rebels in a 10-minute firefight that resulted in the death of a still unidentified rebel and the recovery of two M16 rifles, improvised explosive devices (IED), a laptop, and personal belongings, the report said.
Belleza said pursuit operations against the fleeing rebels were going on as of Friday morning.