TWO New People’s Army (NPA) rebels died in a clash with government troops in Cawayan town in Masbate yesterday.
No one was reported killed on injured on the military site from the clash which broke out at 7 a.m. in Purok 5, Barangay Tuburan in Cawayan.
Troops from the Army’s 2nd Infantry Battalion were on combat operation when they clashed with about 10 rebels, the Army’s 9th Infantry Division (ID) said in a statement.
The communist rebels are said to be members of the NPA’s Platoon 1, Komiteng Larangan Guerrilla South, Sub-Regional Committee 4.
The insurgents retreated after an eight-minute firefight, the 9th ID said.
The 9th ID said soldiers recovered at the encounter site an M16 rifle, a cal. 38 revolver, a homemade shotgun, five cellphones, and personal belongings.
The 9th ID reiterated that counter-insurgency operations in the Bicol region will remain relentless.
The military is aiming to end the insurgency problem the soonest time possible so it can fully shift to external or territorial defense operations, from internal defense operations.
