[wpgmappity id=”1487″]
COTABATO CITY, Philippines – A soldier was killed and three others were wounded in a clash with communist rebels in Lagonglong town in Misamis Oriental on Friday, a military official said Sunday.
Major Christian Uy, spokesperson of the military’s 4th Infantry Division, said troops under the 58th Battalion were on a patrol mission following the reported presence of armed men in the village of Umagos when they encountered an undetermined number of New People’s Army (NPA) rebels.
A 15-minute gunbattle ensued that resulted in the death of a soldier and the wounding of three others.
The NPA, armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), has been waging a guerrilla campaign in the countryside for four decades.
Military estimates placed the NPA strength at more than 5,000 men scattered in more than 60 guerrilla fronts throughout the country.
Peace talks between the government and the Communist Party of the Philippines bogged down in 2004 after the United States included the NPA and the CPP as foreign terrorist organizations.
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