5 killed in Mindanao fighting

ILIGAN CITY, Lanao del Norte—At least five people, including two soldiers, were killed in separate clashes in Lanao del Sur and Compostela Valley on Friday, according to reports by military officials.

In the Lanao del Sur incident, which took place at 6 a.m., a soldier was killed when armed men on two multicab vehicles strafed a military outpost in Madalum town, Col. Glen Macasero, commanding officer of the Army’s 103rd Infantry Brigade based in Marawi City, said.

Macasero told the Inquirer by phone that soldiers from the 51st Infantry Battalion were performing their daily chores when the unidentified men suddenly sprayed their detachment with bullets.

One soldier was killed outright, he said, adding that other soldiers returned fire and killed three of the attackers. However, the bodies of the slain men were not recovered as the vehicles sped away, leaving behind the rifles—an M16, an M-14 and a Carbine — of the slain gunmen.

“Our troops are still in pursuit of the suspects,” he said.

In Mawab, Compostela Valley, a soldier was killed when government troops clashed with communist rebels on Friday.

Compostela Vally police chief Senior Supt. Camilo Cascolan identified the slain soldier as Cpl. Wahid Saijili, a member of the army’s 72nd Infantry Battalion.

Cascolan said the clash occurred while a squad of soldiers led by S/Sgt. Edilberto Grumo was patrolling the village of Tanawan around 8:10 a.m.

“The soldiers encountered an undetermined number of New People’s Army rebels, sparking a firefight that killed one soldier,” Cascolan told the Inquirer by text message message.

He said government forces were pursuing the rebels.

Originally posted at 12:14 p.m.