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Clashes in Bukidnon claim 9 NPA rebs, 2 soldiers


(Updated 10:02 p.m.) ZAMBOANGA CITY – Nine communist rebels and two government soldiers were killed in clashes Tuesday as troops closed in on a guerrilla encampment in the southern Philippine province of Bukidnon, a regional military spokesman said. Troops recovered assault rifles and other weapons from the slain New People's Army guerrillas in a mountainous and thickly forested area outside Valencia city, Maj. Mitchelle Anayron said. Anayron, spokesman of the Army’s 4th Infantry Division, said troops from the 8th Infantry Battalion were conducting patrol when they initially caught up with about 60 insurgents at the village of Banlag around 12:20 p.m.
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Government forces and New People's Army guerrillas clash in a mountainous and forested area outside Valencia city in Bukidnon province, Mindanao island. Google map
The official said the rebels, belonging to the Front Committee 6 under one Alberto Navarro, alias Zorro/Canoy, disengaged after a 15-minute firefight, initially leaving one soldier dead and three others wounded. One of the wounded soldiers later perished. “As of this writing, heavy exchange of fire is still continuing in the area," Anayron said late Tuesday. It was the heaviest loss for the rebels operating in the province since 12 guerrillas died in fighting in nearby Zamboanguita township in March, he said. The military is under orders from President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to defeat the 40-year-old Maoist insurgency by next year. The 120,000-strong armed forces are fighting an estimated 5,000 guerrillas. Peace negotiations between the rebels and the government brokered by Norway collapsed in 2004 after the guerrillas blamed the government for their inclusion on US and European lists of terrorist groups. Both sides took steps to resume the talks several months ago but the efforts again fell apart. - Al Jacinto, Andreo Calonzo, and AP report/KBK, GMANews.TV
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