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2 soldiers killed, 3 hurt in NPA ComVal ambush


Two soldiers were killed while three others were wounded in an ambush staged by communist rebels in Compostela Valley in southern Philippines on Tuesday morning, a military official said. The troops were securing the route of Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) personnel when waylaid by New People’s Army (NPA) rebels at Belmonte village in Laak town, said Lt. Col. Leopoldo Galon, the military's Eastern Mindanao Command spokesman. The fatalities were identified as Pfc. Werlito de Claro and Pfc. Jefferson Galang, while those injured were Pfc. Joel Bastian, Pfc. Reynaldo Villamor and Pfc. Jason Valdez. All belong to the 3rd Special Forces Battalion. Galon said the casualties were brought to a hospital inside Camp Panacan, home of the Eastmincom, in Davao City. Lt. Col. Lyndon Paniza, spokesman of the Army’s 10th Infantry Division, said the attack showed that the NPA rebels were not sincere in their pronouncements that they are against illegal logging. “The troops were supposedly on their way to secure the personnel from DENR to implement the total log ban in the area," Paniza said of the ambushed soldiers. “They (rebels) redundantly proclaim that they are against illegal logging and yet, here’s the DENR personnel implementing total log ban…but still, they initiate an attack hampering the implementation," added Paniza. - KBK, GMA News

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