2 soldiers, 1 NPA guerilla killed as rebels attack Mati City police station

DAVAO CITY, Philippines–At least two soldiers and a communist guerrilla were killed after members of the New People’s Army raided a police station in Mati City in Davao Oriental on Sunday evening.

Initial reports said that at least 60 heavily armed rebels wearing military uniform arrived at the police station around 7:30 p.m. aboard a white truck.

Maj. Ezra Balagtey, spokesperson of the military’s Eastern Mindanao Command, said the police who were in the station immediately put up a fight after realizing that the armed men were rebels while government soldiers were immediately deployed to provide fire support.

A heavy firefight ensued, which forced the communist guerrillas to withdraw, leaving behind a body of a suspected rebel.

Meanwhile, a unit from the Division Recon Company was hit by a command-detonated explosive a kilometer away from the brigade headquarters in the city, killing two soldiers and hurting five others.

Police reports said no policeman was killed in the firefight but one was wounded and has been treated.

“The attack was repelled with the immediate response of the 701st Brigade,” Balagtey said.

Military reinforcements included an armored personnel carrier, Balagtey said.

With residents fearing that more firefights would erupt after the rebels fled, Balagtey immediately denied claims posted on social networking sites that rebels had spread out through the city.

“That is not true. These are just delaying groups that trigger landmines,” Balagtey said.

Originally posted: 11:30 PM | Sunday, February 15th, 2015

The province of Davao Oriental is known as a hotspot of the communist movement in the country and is one of the primary areas for the military’s anti-insurgency campaign.