2 NPA rebels slain in battle with gov’t troops in Negros Occidental

BACOLOD CITY––Two suspected New People’s Army members were killed in an encounter Tuesday, Dec. 4, with government troops in Barangay Buenavista, Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental.

Brig. Gen. Inocencio Pasaporte, 303rd Infantry Brigade commander, said soldiers of the 94th Infantry Battalion responded to reports of civilians about the presence of armed rebels in their community.

Pasaporte said this resulted in a gunbattle between the Army and seven rebels, who later withdrew from the encounter site.

The fleeing rebels left behind their two slain comrades whose identities were still being established.

Recovered from the encounter site were two .45 caliber pistols, assorted explosives, and anti-government documents.

Three days earlier, suspected NPA rebels killed a former government militiaman in Himamaylan.

lzb