SURIGAO CITY -- Barely a day after abducting two policemen in a town in Surigao del Norte on Monday, November 13, armed men believed to be members of the New People's Army (NPA) attacked police targets in Caraga Region Tuesday.
NPA combatants torched two commercial trucks on a highway Tuesday morning in Jabonga town in Agusan del Norte, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said in a report.
Several kilometers away in the neigboring town of Santiago, armed men ambushed a convoy of military tank and a light armored vehicle.
No one was hurt in both incidents, police said.
In Kitcharao town in Agusan del Norte, which borders Surigao del Norte, police said PNP and military units engaged an undetermined number of NPA members who tried to set up a checkpoint on a portion of the national highway.
Fighting is still ongoing as of this posting, police and military sources said.
Residents in the area said the NPA distributed leaflets Tuesday, urging the public to rise against the presence of the military in Kitcharao. The leaflets warned residents to evacuate to safer areas if the military does not leave the town.
On Monday, suspected NPA rebels also ambushed a convoy belonging to the Surigao del Norte Provincial Mobile Force Company (PMFC) in Brgy. Trinidad, Surigao City.
Police Superintendent Diomedes Cuadra Jr., PMFC commander, said the ambush occurred around 5 pm when he and his team were en route to this city. No one was injured in the incident.
Hours before the ambush, at around 1.30 p.m., NPA rebels onboard two utility vans abducted Police Officer 2 (PO2) John Paul Doverte and PO2 Alfredo Degamon at a busy intersection in Brgy. Bad-as, Placer town.
Ka Oto, spokesperson of the NPA Guerilla Front Committee 16B, said they captured the two policemen for allegations ranging from extortion, illegal drugs and other illegal activities. (PNA)