CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 02 Mar) – Philippine soldiers mounted fresh operation Friday to capture a band of communist insurgents they earlier clashes in the southern province of Bukidnon.
The military said soldiers were pursuing members of the New People’s Army in Malaybalay City where clashes occurred Thursday. At least 10 insurgents and two soldiers were killed in the fighting.
The soldiers were patrolling a village when they encountered the insurgents, sparking a running gun battle between the two groups. Soldiers said they recovered several automatic weapons left behind by NPA gunmen during their escape.
There were no reports of fresh fighting in the area. The NPA is the armed wing of the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines which is fighting for the establishment of a Marxist state in the country.
Peace talks between the Arroyo government and the insurgents collapsed in 2004 after the United States included the CPP and NPA and its political arm, the National Democratic Front on its terror list on Manila’s prodding. (With a report from Juley Reyes in Manila)
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