NPA rebels kill army militia in Southern Philippines

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / June 3, 2010) – Communist insurgents killed a government militiaman and wounded another in an attack Thursday in the southern Philippines, officials said.

Officials said the fighting occurred in the village of Salvacion in Compostela Valley’s Mawab town. The militiaman was killed in a bomb attack by the New People’s Army, which is fighting for decades for the establishment of a Maoist state in the country.

The second militia was wounded when he clashed with insurgents, said Army Captain Emmanuel Garcia, a spokesman for the 10th Infantry Division. “One government militia was killed in the terrorist attack,” he told the Mindanao Examiner.

On Wednesday, insurgents also wounded a government soldier in fighting in Maco town also in Compostela Valley province, a known stronghold of the New People’s Army.

The military launched fresh offensive this week in the restive region against the insurgents blamed for the spate of attacks that had killed and wounded dozens of soldiers and civilians.

The New People’s Army is the armed wing of the underground Communist Party of the Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner)