ZAMBOANGA CITY, 10 October 2003 — Three communist guerrillas were killed and 5 others captured in fierce clashes yesterday with government forces in Mindanao, officials said.
Fighting erupted around 5.20 a.m. after troops stormed a hideout of the New People’s Army (NPA) in the village of Mangga outside of Tangub City in Misamis Occidental province.
There were no casualties on the government side, said regional military spokesman Lt. Col. Renoir Pascua.
He said soldiers from the army’s 5th Infantry Battalion, headed by Lt. Col. Eduardo Tardio, surrounded a house used by the rebels the previous night and assaulted at dawn, surprising the guerrillas. One of the dead and two of the captured rebels were women, said Pascua.
On Wednesday, soldiers from the army’s 22nd Infantry Battalion on patrol in the village of Danao, outside Polangui town in Albay province, ran into a group of guerrillas, triggering an “intense exchange of gunfire” that killed a rebel and a soldier, military spokesman Lt. Col. Daniel Lucero said. Three soldiers were wounded.
Polangui is about about 300 kilometers (190 miles) southeast of Manila.
A guerrilla spokesman told reporters over the weekend that the rebels planned “surprise attacks” during US President George W. Bush’s visit to Manila Oct. 18.
The United States has labeled the Communist Party of the Philippines and its 10,000-strong armed wing as terrorist organizations.
Peace talks have stalled since 2001, but both sides have said they are willing to resume negotiations. (Additional input from AP)
