By Ronron
May 16, 2007
Seven Army troopers died while three others were wounded after they were ambushed by suspected members of the New People’s Army (NPA) Abra province dawn of Wednesday.
Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro, Public Information Officer (PIO) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), said the elements of the 41st Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army were conducting road clearing operations in Barangay Baoayan, Boliney town when they were fired upon by some 40 communist rebels at around 5:45 am.
Bacarro said the operation was meant to deter plans of the NPA to snatch ballot boxes that were going to be transported to Boliney from Manaba town later in the day for canvassing.
“Accordingly, the NPA’s were conducting a road blockade intended to snatch the ballot in order to favor an unidentified candidate who allegedly paid large sums for his permit-to-win fees with the NPA,” PA 5th Infantry Division spokesman 1Lt. Dennis Guillermo said in a statement.
Guillermo said the Army troops attacked numbered to about 30.
Some of the soldiers managed to fire back, ensuing a firefight for more than one hour.
The slain troopers include one officer while the rest are foot soldiers and militiamen.
“The noble sacrifice of these gallant men prevented the NPA’s from snatching the Comelec election returns and prevented the dignity of the votes of the people in Abra,” Guillermo said.
“The 5th Infantry Division’s Commanding General, Maj. Gen. Rodrigo Maclang, extends his deepest sympathy to the bereaved families of the fallen soldiers, and wishes to express his great pride over their heroism,” he added.
Guillermo said they are not yet sure if there are casualties on the NPA side since the latter managed to escape.
He described the ambush site as a remote and uninhabited area.
Abra is among the provinces placed under Comelec control during this election period because of intense political rivalry and presence of insurgents./DMS
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment