2 rebels killed in attack (11:49 a.m.)
TWO communist New People’s Army guerrillas died and a government militiaman was wounded following a rebel attack on an Army detachment in Pantukan town in Compostela Valley on Monday.
Quoting from initial information from the field, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Eastern Mindanao Command spokesman Armand Rico said the 60-man rebel band staged the attack on the detachment of the 72nd Infantry Battalion on King-king village at around 4 a.m.
Rico said the rebels were led by one Lando, of the communist movement’s Pulang Bagani Command-3 that operates in the province.
Troops manning the detachment stood their ground and defended their base. The fighting was over 7 a.m., 15 minutes after an MG-520 attack helicopter fired two rockets and machine gun fires on the rebel positions.
Rico identified the wounded militiaman as Africano.
He added that apart from suffering two dead, the rebels also suffered undetermined number of wounded who were carried on their withdrawal.
“The troops repelled the attack. The fire fight lasted for three hours, after which the rebels scampered to different directions,” the military spokesman said.
Peace talks between the government and the communists bogged down in 2004 following the inclusion of the New People’s Army (NPA) and its political wing, Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), in the US list of foreign terrorist organizations.
The Armed Forces is aiming to defeat the communists on or before 2010 based on the order of President Arroyo.
Latest military figures show the communists have more than 5,000 members. (VR/Sunnex)
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