6 soldiers wounded in Quirino land mine blast

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya — Six soldiers were wounded in a blast on Tuesday when their convoy hit a land mine in the remote village of Sangbay at Nagtipunan town in Quirino province.

A report from the Army’s 5th Infantry Division said the soldiers, belonging to the 86th Infantry Battalion, were on their way to their headquarters when their trucks hit the mine.

The wounded soldiers were taken to Maddela District Hospital in Barangay Diduyon in Nagtipunan, about 25 kilometers away. Three of them were later transferred to Quirino Province Medical Center in Cabarroguis town.

Army officials blamed the New People’s Army for the blast, saying the explosive was buried there in retaliation for the Army’s seizure of a rebel camp in nearby Barangay Disimungal on July 4. —Melvin Gascon