CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / July 10, 2014) – Two communist rebels were killed and two policemen wounded in a firefight on Thursday afternoon in the southern Philippines, officials said.
Officials said the fighting erupted after New People’s Army rebels attacked the police headquarters in Alegria town in Surigao del Norte province. Four policemen were also taken captive by rebels as they flee from the clashes.
Police forces recovered the bodies of two rebels who remain unidentified and the truck they used in the attack. The wounded policemen were identified as PO2 Reuben Salino and PO2 Romero Dagsa.
Officials said the four officers taken by the rebels have been identified as PO3 Vic Concon, PO1 Rey Morales, PO1 Joen Zabala and PO1 Edito Roquiño. There were no reports of civilian casualties in the rebel attack.
The fighting also cut off land travel in the town of Alegria and Kitcharao for several hours. Security forces were sent to pursue the NPA and rescue their hostages.
There was no immediate statement from the NPA on the attack. The rebels have been fighting for a separate state for many decades now. (Mindanao Examiner)
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