ZAMBOANGA CITY (Zamboanga Journal / 06 Apr) Government troops killed at least 3 members of the communist New People's Army (NPA) and captured one of its senior leader in separate operations in the southern Philippines, officials said Thursday.
Officials said soldiers killed the rebels in two separate clashes Wednesday in Agusan del Sur province, and that a committee leader of the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Edgar Dagpin was captured earlier in a rebel hideout on the island of Hipdoc off Surigao City.
"At least three rebels were killed in the clashes and one senior NPA leader is captured in the operation. There is an ongoing operation right now and troops were tracking down other members of the NPA in those areas," Lt. Col. Francisco Simbajon, spokesman of the Army's 4th Infantry Division, told the Zamboanga Journal.
Simbajon said soldiers also recovered three automatic weapons from the slain rebels.
He said the capture of Dagpin was a big blow to the rebel's Front Committee 30, of the CPP's North-Eastern Mindanao Revolutionary Command, blamed for the series of attacks against military and police targets in the region.
Dagpin was captured after weeks of surveillance operation, he said. "The locals provided us intelligence information about Dagpin and it helped us trace him until he was captured," Simbahon said.
He said the rebel leader is facing a string of criminal charges and has a warrant for his arrest.
Last week, NPA rebels hijacked a provincial bus and then torched the vehicle after briefly holding dozens of passengers near San Luis village in the outskirts of Gingoog City in Misamis Oriental, about 122 kms east of the provincial capital Cagayan de Oro City.
The insurgents briefly held the passengers at gunpoint and asked them if there were soldiers or policemen or secret marshals in the bus and later freed all the hostages unharmed and then torched the vehicle before escaping.
Maj. Gen. Cardozo Luna, regional military chief, ordered soldiers to strengthen the operation against the NPA, the CPP's armed wing, which is fighting for the establishment of a Maoist state in the country.
Peace negotiations between Manila and rebels collapsed in 2004 following the NDF pullout from the talks due to its continued inclusion in the terror lists of the United States and the European Union.
Officials said soldiers killed the rebels in two separate clashes Wednesday in Agusan del Sur province, and that a committee leader of the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Edgar Dagpin was captured earlier in a rebel hideout on the island of Hipdoc off Surigao City.
"At least three rebels were killed in the clashes and one senior NPA leader is captured in the operation. There is an ongoing operation right now and troops were tracking down other members of the NPA in those areas," Lt. Col. Francisco Simbajon, spokesman of the Army's 4th Infantry Division, told the Zamboanga Journal.
Simbajon said soldiers also recovered three automatic weapons from the slain rebels.
He said the capture of Dagpin was a big blow to the rebel's Front Committee 30, of the CPP's North-Eastern Mindanao Revolutionary Command, blamed for the series of attacks against military and police targets in the region.
Dagpin was captured after weeks of surveillance operation, he said. "The locals provided us intelligence information about Dagpin and it helped us trace him until he was captured," Simbahon said.
He said the rebel leader is facing a string of criminal charges and has a warrant for his arrest.
Last week, NPA rebels hijacked a provincial bus and then torched the vehicle after briefly holding dozens of passengers near San Luis village in the outskirts of Gingoog City in Misamis Oriental, about 122 kms east of the provincial capital Cagayan de Oro City.
The insurgents briefly held the passengers at gunpoint and asked them if there were soldiers or policemen or secret marshals in the bus and later freed all the hostages unharmed and then torched the vehicle before escaping.
Maj. Gen. Cardozo Luna, regional military chief, ordered soldiers to strengthen the operation against the NPA, the CPP's armed wing, which is fighting for the establishment of a Maoist state in the country.
Peace negotiations between Manila and rebels collapsed in 2004 following the NDF pullout from the talks due to its continued inclusion in the terror lists of the United States and the European Union.
Rebel leaders demanded that President Gloria Arroyo asks the United States and the European Union to strike them off from the terror lists before they resume peace talks.
The rebels stepped up attacks on government targets after Manila suspended safety and immunity guarantee for its negotiators following the collapse of the peace talks.
The rebels stepped up attacks on government targets after Manila suspended safety and immunity guarantee for its negotiators following the collapse of the peace talks.
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