DAVAO CITY – Government troops killed two communist insurgents in a clash Wednesday in the southern Philippine province of Davao del Norte, an army spokesman said.
Capt. Alberto Caber, a spokesman for the Eastern Mindanao Command, said the fighting erupted in the village of Gupitan in Kapalong town. He said troops from the 60th Infantry Battalion were sent to hunt down members of the New People’s Army when they encountered a group of rebels and a firefight ensued.
He said the fighting lasted almost an hour and stopped only after the rebels broke into smaller groups and escaped to the hills. He said soldiers recovered four automatic rifles and an improvised explosive device, including a binocular.
“There was no casualty on our side and the pursuit operations still continue,” he told the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.
The fighting was the second in the remote village in three days where two rebels were also killed by soldiers.
Caber said Lt. Gen. Aurelio Baladad, the regional military commander, has ordered military units to intensify the operations against the NPA and at the same time urging the rebels to surrender peacefully.
The NPA rebels have been fighting for decades for the establishment of a separate state in the country. The military has branded the NPA as kidnappers, bandits, terrorists, extortionists and other malevolent tags in propaganda war with the communist group. (Mindanao Examiner)
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