1 killed, 4 hurt in 'NPA' attack in North Cotabato

KIDAPAWAN CITY, Philippines – A militiaman was killed and four others were wounded in an attack by suspected communist rebels on a military detachment in the southern province of North Cotabato, police said on Saturday. Some 60 New People’s Army (NPA) rebels were involved in the attack on the outpost in barangay Luna Sur in Makilala town at around 10 a.m. Saturday, said Inspector Ramel Hojilla, police chief in Makilala. He identified the slain militiaman as Antonio Kikoy of barangay Luna Sur. Wounded were Army M/Sgt. Felipe Bernante of the 37th IB, the detachment commander; militiamen Ramel Gonzaga and Roberto Gulada; and village guard Ronie Adajar. The militiamen and soldiers were preparing for their transfer of place of assignment when the rebels on board a truck came and started shooting, Hojilla said. Kikoy, who was standing near the gate of the detachment, was hit on the head and died instantly, the police officer said. Radio reports said Army soldiers from the 57th Infantry Battalion who rushed to the rescue were themselves ambushed in nearby barangay Luna Norte. “A land mine planted along the road exploded but did not hit the truck carrying the soldiers," Hojilla said in an interview over radio station dxND. He said, none of the reinforcing troops was hurt. Initial police investigations said the rebels, led by a Commander Tawtaw of the 72nd Far South Command of the NPA, commandeered an Isuzu Canter of a banana plantation an hour before the attack. The rebels also used the Canter as their getaway vehicle and later abandoned it somewhere near the boundary of Makilala and Tulunan towns in North Cotabato. - GMANews.TV