Six killed, 13 wounded in AFP-NPA clash in Compostela Valley

By Ronron
June 8, 2007

Four government soldiers and two suspected communist rebels were killed in a four-hour gun battle early Thursday morning in Compostela Valley province, an Army officer said.

In a phone interview yesterday with Defense reporters, Brig. Gen. Carlos Holganza, commander of the Philippine Army’s 1001st Infantry Brigade, said eight soldiers and five rebels were also wounded in the clash that began at 3am in Barangay Rizal, Monkayo town.

Holganza said some 30 members of the Philippine Army’s 28th Infantry Battalion exchange gunfires with nearly 100 members of the New People’s Army (NPA).

Holganza said the government troops were conducting combat patrol when they were first hit by a landmine set off by the insurgents, followed by the firefight.

The slain soldiers were identified as Privates First Class Ronel Mailas, Richard Danoy, John Odchinang, and Maulaha Hassan.

Holganza said the casualties on the rebel side were brought along by their fleeing comrades, and claimed that their figure of two rebels killed and five others wounded were only based on intelligence units.

A separate police report said the withdrawing rebels, who headed towards Laak town, took one URC 77 radio set, one handheld radio set, two M14 rifles, two M16 rifles and undetermined number of magazines and ammunitions from the government side.

The police report said the rebels are being pursued by joint elements of the 28th IB and the 1102nd Police Provincial Mobile Group (PPMG).

Holganza said after the encounter, the government soldiers discovered and overran a rebel camp in the area. “It’s a big camp, equipped with tunnels and running trenches. They could have occupied it for a year,” said Holganza.

But even before the Compostela Valley encounter was over, another group of rebels launched an ambush at around 4am against joint police and military forces in Davao Oriental province, a separate police report said.

An undetermined number of NPA rebels attacked members of the 1105th PPMG and of the Philippine Army’s 67th IB while the latter were onboard an armed personnel carrier (Simba) at Quarry, Sitio Magnum, Barangay Saoqueque in Baganga town, the report said.

“Accordingly, the joint government troops were on their way to reinforce the beleaguered troops from the composite detachment of the 67th and 72nd IB based at (the ambush site) who were attacked earlier by heavily armed communist terrorists,” the report said.

The 7,100-strong NPA has been waging guerilla warfare in the countryside in the last 38 years but the government vows to crush the movement by 2010.

The heavy presence of communist insurgents in eastern Mindanao forced the military to create last year the Eastern Mindanao Command, so the Western Mindanao Command, which is based in Zamboanga City, can concentrate on Moslem extremists and secessionists./DMS