4 soldiers injured by explosive in Compostela Valley

TAGUM CITY, Philippines—Four soldiers were wounded when an improvised bomb said to have been planted by communist rebels exploded in a hinterland village in Monkayo, Compostela Valley, early Saturday, the military said.

Major Jacob Obligado, commander of the Army’s 10th Civil-Military Operations unit, said the soldiers were immediately evacuated to the Naval Hospital in Davao City after sustaining shrapnel injuries in the 2:30 a.m. explosion in Barangay Casoon.

The soldiers, belonging to the 25th Infantry Battalion, were on patrol when the explosion took place, he said.

Colonel Leopoldo Galon, spokesperson of the military’s Eastern Mindanao Command, said a five-minute firefight ensued as pursuing soldiers caught up with the New People’s Army rebels responsible for the explosion.

It was not clear whether the rebels suffered any casualties  in the clash, he said. With a report from Orlando Dinoy, Inquirer Mindanao