Rifles, an improvised explosive device, and bomb-making materials were recovered after the 10 a.m. clash in San Vicente village, Lt. Col. Cesar Molina, commander of the Army’s 25th Infantry Battalion, said.
Molina said his men were on patrol after receiving a report on the presence of armed men believed to be New People’s Army insurgents when they came under fire.
“We have two wounded on the government side,” Molina told the Philippine Daily Inquirer in a text message, without providing the names of the casualties.
He said the gun battle lasted for 30 minutes, with the rebels fleeing, possibly with their own casualties.
“Pursuit operations … are still on-going,” said Molina.
Lt. Col. Lyndon Paniza, spokesperson of the Army’s 10th Infantry Division, said soldiers recovered at the encounter site M-16 and .30-cal. Carbine rifles, an improvised explosive device, a hand grenade, bomb-making materials and personal effects believed left by the fleeing rebels.