3 killed in Army-NPA clash in Compostela Valley

Three were killed, including an Army soldier, in clashes between the military and the communist rebels in Compostela Valley on Sunday.

The soldiers from the Army’s 71st Infantry Battalion were doing security patrol in Sitio Camarin in Napnapan in Pantukan town at about 11 a.m. when they encountered 50 members of the New People’s Army, a report from the Eastern Mindanao Command said on Monday.

The military said it received reports that the rebels led by an alias Maruz, were extorting in the nearby villages.

Two communist rebels were also reportedly killed from the firefight but the military said their comrades took away the bodies.

Six rebels were wounded from the clashes.

“The soldiers of 71st IB are now doing its best effort to locate the cadavers of said NPA bandits in order to facilitate their burial, documentation and for proper disposition,” the report said.

Two weeks ago, four soldiers and a militiaman were also wounded in clashes with communist rebels also in Pantukan.

READ: 5 gov’t personnel injured in NPA ambush in Compostela Valley