Soldier hurt in AFP-NPA gun battle in Ilocos Sur

FORT RAMON MAGSAYSAY, NUEVA ECIJA — A soldier was wounded in a 30-minute firefight with suspected communist rebels at Salcedo town in Ilocos Sur province on Saturday afternoon.

Members of the 81st Infantry Battalion of the Army’s 7th Infantry Division fought 15 armed men believed to be members of the New People’s Army “Platun South Ilocos Sur” at 1:30 p.m. in Barangay (village) Madarang.

The gun battle took place a few days after the Sept. 20 encounter in Carranglan town, Nueva Ecija province where nine rebels were killed.

1Lt. Catherine Hapin, head of the public affairs office (DPAO), did not reveal the name of the wounded soldier, but said he was safe.

The Army recovered an M653 rifle, two rifle grenades, three improvised explosive devices (IEDs), a two-way radio, and documents from the combat site.

Hapin said soldiers were “still in the process of determining [if the the NPA had] casualties based on the traces of blood in the area.”

Col. Henry Robinson Jr., commander of the 702nd Infantry Brigade, said soldiers have been tracking down this group of rebels for six months. /je