World | Philippines
Leftist rebels kill 7 security men
Five soldiers and two policemen were killed, and nine others were wounded in separate attacks waged by communist rebels in the southern Philippines, military and police reports said yesterday.
- By Barbara Mae Dacanay, Bureau Chief
- Published: 01:28 January 31, 2008
Manila: Five soldiers and two policemen were killed, and nine others were wounded in separate attacks waged by communist rebels in the southern Philippines, military and police reports said yesterday.
"We lost five soldiers ... when nearly 40 members of the New People's Army (NPA) attacked soldiers in Cateel town, Davao Oriental Province on Mindanao Island on Wednesday," said Colonel Benito de Leon, spokesman of the Philippine Army in Mindanao.
Six soldiers were wounded in the latest NPA attack, de Leon said. He did not release the names of those who were killed and wounded.
On Tuesday, NPA rebels killed a policeman after accosting him at dawn in Nabunturan, Compostela Valley in the south. His wife and another civilian were hurt in the incident, said Ronald de la Rosa, police provincial director for Compostela Valley.
Ambush
A police officer was also killed after NPA rebels ambushed his patrol on a road off Compostela Valley at ten on Tuesday morning. A truck driver was also wounded in the incident, de la Rosa said.
Outgoing armed forces chief General Hermogenes Esperon vowed earlier to step up government's anti-communist drive. His post was extended until May.
In a recent report, Esperon said the military has succeeded in stemming NPA ranks, from 12,000 between 2002 and 2006 to 5,700 in 2007.
The NPA, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, is based in far-flung provinces, including in Mindanao in the south.
- with inputs by Camcer Ordonez, Correspondent
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