LEGAZPI CITY – A suspected member of the New People's Army (NPA) was killed in a clash with Army soldiers in a remote village in Placer town, Masbate province on Friday, a military report said.
Army Capt. John Paul Belleza, public affairs chief of the 9th Infantry Division, said in an interview that Army and police personnel on internal security operation encountered a group of NPA rebels in Barangay Calumpang at 2:50 p.m.
A five-minute firefight ensued, resulting in the death of a rebel whose identity is unknown, Belleza said.
Recovered at the encounter site was the M16 rifle of the slain rebel.
Earlier, government troops recovered in the village four anti-personnel mines, a 100-meter electrical wire, medical supplies, solar panel, a motorized banca, hammock, and propaganda materials believed to have been left behind by fleeing rebels after a tipster reported the rebel group’s presence in the area. (PNA)
