1 Dead, 2 Wounded In Rebel Attack In South RP

COMPOSTELA Valley (Mindanao Examiner / 24 Apr) – New People’s Army rebels attacked a group of army soldiers and pro-government militias, killing one and wounding two more in the southern Filipino province of Compostela Valley, officials said.

Officials said more than 40 NPA gunmen attacked soldiers on Monday, sparking a brief firefight. Officials also reported that troops have seized a NPA rebel camp in Gattaran town in Cagayan Valley in the northern Philippines.

Military spokesman Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro said soldiers recovered assorted explosives, including landmines, grenades, C4 and Molotov bombs. The encampment was apparently abandoned even before soldiers could arrive.

The NPA, armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, has been fighting the government the past three decades to install a Maoist state in the country. (With reports from Juley Reyes and Romy Bwaga)