Army troops rescue wounded NPA commander in Ifugao clash

Avelino Cruz, reportedly the vice commander of the rebel group New People’s Army Front Operational Command-Guerrilla Front Abra-Mountain Province-Ilocos Sur, is rescued after being left behind by his comrades after a gun battle with government troops in Asipulo town, Ifugao province. | PHOTOL 54th Infantry Battalion photos

CAMP MELCHOR DELA CRUZ, Gamu, Isabela –– Military troops rescued a wounded commander of the communist guerrillas after being left behind by his comrades following their firefight on Tuesday, May 24, with the rebels in Asipulo town, Ifugao province, authorities said Friday.

Capt. Karol Jay Mendoza Jr., civil-military operations officer of the 54th Infantry Battalion, identified the wounded rebel as Avelino Cruz alias Junel/Alcaras of the Front Operational Command-Guerrilla Front Abra-Mountain Province-Ilocos Sur (GF-AMPIS) under the Ilocos-Cordillera Regional Committee.

Cruz, who is reportedly the vice commander of GF-AMPIS, was in stable condition while recuperating at a hospital in Nueva Vizcaya province.

“If he had not been seen and saved by Army soldiers on May 26, he could have died due to loss of blood and a broken leg,” Mendoza told the Inquirer.

Cruz has pending charges for multiple murder, multiple frustrated murder, and attempted murder at various courts in the Cordillera and Ilocos regions.

As this developed, Army soldiers also donated food and helped families displaced by the clashes between Army troops and the rebels this week.

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