Reds burn trucks

DAVAO CITY—Communist guerrillas torched seven trucks in Quezon town in Bukidnon province early Sunday, a military official said.

Maj. Christian Uy, spokesperson of the Army’s 4th Infantry Division, said the rebels, belonging to the New People’s Army (NPA) Guerrilla Front 53, flagged down the trucks along the highway in Barangay (village) Palacapao around 5:45 a.m. and ordered the the drivers and their passengers to disembark before setting the vehicles on fire.

Responding government forces under the 8th Infantry Battalion and the Regional Public Safety Battalion engaged the rebels in a gunfight, Uy said. No casualties on both sides were reported.

“The area is now safe for our travelers and everything is under control,” said Col. Jesse Alvarez, commander of 403rd Infantry Brigade. Karlos Manlupig, Inquirer Mindanao