NORTH COTABATO – Suspected communist insurgents seized 2 government soldiers on Thursday at a checkpoint in Sultan Kudarat province in southern Philippines, officials said.
Officials did not release the identities of the soldiers, but said they are members of the 39th Infantry Battalion and blamed the New People’s Army for the disappearance of the duo in Columbio town. They were travelling on a motorcycle when rebels stopped them in the village of Telefas.
The capture of the infantrymen occurred just a day after rebels seized 3 soldiers and killed them in the village of Manalog in Malaybalay City in Bukidnon province. The trio were belonged to the 8th Infantry Battalion, according to the army.
The soldiers, whose names were withheld by the military, said the victims were on their way to collect their allowance when rebels capture them.
Insurgents also killed Second Lieutenant Miguel Victor Alejo and wounded Private Peter Sumatin in ambush on the same day the 3 soldiers were slain. Alejo and Sumatin were attacked in the town called Manay in Davao Oriental province also in southern Philippines.
According to the Eastern Mindanao Command, the soldiers belong to the 67th Infantry Battalion and had been sent to the town to help the local police pursue rebels who were allegedly extorting money from villagers. Alejo was a member of the Philippine Military Academy Class of 2015.
Rebel forces are fighting for the establishment of a separate Maoist state in the country. (Mindanao Examiner)
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