NPA amazon, Army soldier killed in Occ. Mindoro, Quezon clashes

Santa Cruz town, Occidental Mindoro (Wikipedia maps)

MANILA — A New People’s Army (NPA) amazon and an Army soldier were killed in separate armed encounters on Monday, a military spokesman said.

Lt. Xy-zon Meneses, spokesperson of the Army’s 2nd Infantry Division, said a female NPA guerilla was killed in Occidental Mindoro while a soldier was killed in another encounter in Quezon.

“The Army will continue to go after the rebels until they stop the terror acts they commit against the people,” said Maj. Gen. Rhoderick Parayno, 2nd Division chief.

Meneses said the first encounter happened at around 10 a.m. at Sitio Tagbungan, Barangay Barahan, in Sta. Cruz, Occidental Mindoro

He said members of the 76th Infantry Battalion fought around 30 armed NPA guerillas in Mindoro for about 30 minutes. The firefight left one female NPA member, identified as a certain Ka Bikke, dead.

Government troops also recovered a .9mm pistol along with an improvised explosive device, Meneses said.

At around 11 a.m., government troops clashed with some 30 NPA rebels in Sitio Little Baguio, Barangay Magsaysay in Infata, Quezon.

Meneses said the firefight lasted for 15 minutes and left one soldier dead while two others were wounded. The wounded were later brought to the 2nd Army Station Hospital for medical treatment.

The names of the slain soldiers and his two wounded colleagues were not yet released since their families have not yet been informed, Meneses said.

Parayno said his troops were still conducting pursuit operations to track down fleeing rebels as of Monday afternoon. (With a report from Maricar Cinco, Inquirer Southern Luzon, @maricarcincoINQ) SFM