DAVAO CITY – Two communist insurgents were killed in fierce clashes in the southern Philippine province of Davao Occidental, officials said on Wednesday.
Capt. Alberto Caber, a spokesman for the Eastern Mindanao Command, said two more insurgents were captured by soldiers in the village of Kinganan in Malita town where Tuesday fighting erupted. The clashes lasted for 45 minutes.
He said there could be more casualties on the side of the New People’s Army following the recovery of 10 automatic weapons – five M16 rifles, three AK-47 rifles, one M14 rifle and one M653 rifle – left behind by fleeing gunmen.
Caber said the soldiers had to call for reinforcement due to superior firepower of the insurgents. “The soldiers on squad patrol requested for reinforcement in the ensuing pursuit operations due to superiority of firepower of the NPA lawless group numbering around 20,” he said.
He said there were no military casualties and that soldiers from the 73rd Infantry Battalion were ordered on Wednesday to track down the insurgents that the military claimed had been extorting money from villagers.
Caber said Lt. Gen. Aurelio Baladad, chief of the Eastern Mindanao Command, directed military commanders to continue their joint operations in the provinces against the NPA in order to protect the villagers in remote areas from the atrocities of the rebel group which has been fighting for a separate state for many decades now. (Mindanao Examiner)
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