Firearms, explosives found after AFP-NPA clash in Masbate

LUCENA CITY–Army soldiers who engaged suspected New People’s Army (NPA) rebels in San Fernando town in Masbate province on Thursday (March 15) found 12 high-powered firearms and two improvised explosive devices at the clash site.

Soldiers from the Army’s 2nd Infantry Battalion clashed with at least 15 communist guerrillas for about 10 minutes in Barangay (village) Talisay around 6 a.m. Thursday, according to Colonel Teody Toribio, head of the military’s Southern Luzon Command public information office, in a report.

After the rebels escaped, the soldiers initially recovered five M16 rifles, one M653 carbine, two improvised explosive devices, M203 grenade launcher ammunition, four sacks of rice and personal belongings left behind by the escaping rebels at the encounter site.

During the hot pursuit operation, the government forces further recovered another M16 rifle, nine boats, one of them motorized, one solar panel and more personal belongings.

Later in the afternoon, pursuing soldiers recovered three more M16 rifles and two more carbines, Toribio said./lb