Rebels ambush troops in Southern Philippines

DAVAO CITY – New People’s Army rebels ambushed a group of patrolling soldiers and killing one of them in the southern Philippine province of Compostela Valley, officials said on Monday.

The attack - which occurred on the eve of President Aquino’s state of the nation address on Monday - in the village of Napnapan in Pantukan town, sparked a firefight that officials claimed left 2 rebels dead and 6 more wounded, but this cannot be immediately or independently confirmed.

Officials said troops also failed to recover the cadavers of the dead gunmen. They said a member of the 71st Infantry Battalion was slain in the ambush by dozens of rebels under a commander whose name was only Maruz.

The identity of the slain soldier was not released by the military, but Col. Casiano Monilla, commander of the 1001st Infantry Brigade, urged the rebels to surrender peacefully and at the same time ordered an operation against the NPA.

"Military and police operations shall continue against the NPA,” he said in a statement sent to the regional newspaper.

The rebels have been fighting for many decades now for the establishment of a separate state in the country. (Mindanao Examiner)

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