Suspected NPA fighter killed in Ifugao clash

AP FILE PHOTO

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines — A suspected communist rebel was killed in a clash with government soldiers in Aguinaldo, Ifugao, on Sunday, police and military reports said.

A report reaching the Cordillera police office in Benguet said a firefight between a platoon of government soldiers and 20 suspected New People’s Army (NPA) rebels broke out at 5:20 a.m. in Barangay (village) Butac.

Chief Superintendent Benjamin Magalong, Cordillera police director, said combat operations were ongoing on Sunday afternoon.

He said the slain rebel, whose body was found in the clash site, had yet to be identified. The soldiers recovered three M16 rifles and an M203 grenade launcher after the firefight.

The rebels belong to the Kilusang Larangang Gerilya (KLG) Marco Command, according to the police. A separate report from the military’s Northern Luzon Command (Nolcom) said the rebels were led by Artos Talastas, also known as Ka Libre or Ka Layden.

Magalong said the soldiers, led by 2nd Lt. Joshua Barrio of the Army’s 54th Infantry Battalion, did not report any casualty on their side.