Soldier hurt in clash with NPAs in ComVal; troops in hot pursuit
TAGUM CITY, Davao del Norte, Philippines — Army soldiers have been pursuing communist rebels in Compostela Valley, after a soldier was wounded in an encounter with the New People’s Army in New Bataan, Compostela Valley, on Saturday, the military said.
Elements of the 25th Infantry Battalion were conducting security patrol at Sitio (Sub-village) Sta. Lucia, Camanlangan village around 1 p.m. when fired upon by suspected New People’s Army guerrillas, Capt. Alberto Caber, spokesperson of the military’s Eastern Mindanao Command, said.
The wounded soldier, whom Caber did not identify, was rushed to a local hospital for treatment of a gunshot wound.
“The rebels, numbering about 20, fled after a 20-minute firefight,” the military spokesperson said.
He said residents have seen wounded rebels carried by their fleeing comrades and that government troops have been pursuing the insurgents since the clash.
