5 soldiers killed in NPA attack in Southern Philippines

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Aug. 24, 2010) - Communist rebels killed at least five government soldiers in a clash early Tuesday in the southern Philippines, officials said.

Officials said one soldier was also wounded in the fighting that erupted in the village of Fortuna in Agusan del Sur's Veruela town. The clash broke out after dozens of New People’s Army rebels attacked a military detachment.

The fighting lasted several minutes and only stopped after rebels retreated to the hills. It was not immediately known whether any of the attackers were wounded or killed in the clash.

“There is an operation going on aimed at tracking down the rebels in the province,” said Lieutenant Colonel Triumph Dominic Bagaipo, a spokesman for the Army’s 4th Infantry Division.

There New People’s Army, armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, is fighting for decades now for the establishment of a Maoist state in the country. (With reports from Merlyn Manos and Becky de Asis)