AN ALLEGED member of the communist terrorist group (CTG) was killed in a gun battle with the members of the 94th Infantry Battalion in the hinterlands of Barangay Buenavista in Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental Wednesday, August 10, 2022.
Brigadier General Inocencio Pasaporte, commander of the 303rd Infantry Brigade, said the casualty was a male and has yet to be identified.
Pasaporte told SunStar Bacolod that the government troops received information from concerned citizens about the presence of armed individuals conducting extortion activities near the area of the barangay’s Sitio Bulasot around 9 a.m.
While the soldiers were scouring the area, they were fired upon by at least 20 armed CTG members, prompting the government troops to retaliate, he said.
Pasaporte added that the gunbattle lasted for almost 45 minutes until the communist group members were forced to retreat, leaving their dead comrade behind.
As of Wednesday, the hot pursuit operation against the terrorists was still ongoing, the top military official said.
An M-16 rifle was seized from the encounter site, he said.
Pasaporte also said that there were no reported casualties from the government troops.