Red assassins kill 1 of 2 soldiers on market errand in ComVal

TAGUM CITY – Suspected communist hit men attacked government troops on a market errand in Mawab, Compostela Valley on Monday, killing one soldier, the military said Tuesday.

Another soldier was wounded and remained in critical condition at a government hospital here following the incident that took place in Purok (Community) 3, Poblacion village around 10:50 a.m., according to Capt. Alexandre Cabales, the acting spokesperson of the Army’s 10th Infantry Division.

Cabales said the two soldiers were heading back on a motorcycle to the headquarters of the Army’s 71st Infantry Battalion in nearby Nueva Visayas village after buying provisions at the Mawab public market when fired upon by at least four assailants on three motorbikes.

One of the soldiers died there while his companion was rushed to the nearest hospital for treatment.

The military spokesperson did not give the victims’ identities pending notification of their families.

The suspects, believed members of the armed Special Partisan Unit (SPARU) of the New People’s Army, fled towards the direction of Barangay Sawangan, an interior village in Mawab, Cabales said.