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dpa
Manila
Five suspected communist rebels were killed in a firefight with government troops in the central Philippines on Wednesday, a military spokeswoman said.
Three soldiers were also injured in the clash in Calatrava town in Negros Occidental province, 515 kilometres south of Manila, said First Lieutenant Revella Roperos, an army brigade spokeswoman.
The firefight erupted when troops encountered a group of about 30 guerrillas when they were dispatched to a village where residents had reported the presence of armed men, Roperos said.
“The firefight lasted for about an hour, after which the enemy scampered to different directions,” Roperos said. Soldiers recovered a rifle with ammunition, mobile phones and other personal items from the site of the fighting, she added.
Communist rebels have been fighting the Philippine government since the late 1960s, making the movement one of the longest-running leftist insurgencies in Asia.
President Rodrigo Duterte terminated peace talks with the communist rebels in November 2017. Efforts to resume the talks have failed amid escalating attacks by the guerrillas.
Manila
Five suspected communist rebels were killed in a firefight with government troops in the central Philippines on Wednesday, a military spokeswoman said.
Three soldiers were also injured in the clash in Calatrava town in Negros Occidental province, 515 kilometres south of Manila, said First Lieutenant Revella Roperos, an army brigade spokeswoman.
The firefight erupted when troops encountered a group of about 30 guerrillas when they were dispatched to a village where residents had reported the presence of armed men, Roperos said.
“The firefight lasted for about an hour, after which the enemy scampered to different directions,” Roperos said. Soldiers recovered a rifle with ammunition, mobile phones and other personal items from the site of the fighting, she added.
Communist rebels have been fighting the Philippine government since the late 1960s, making the movement one of the longest-running leftist insurgencies in Asia.
President Rodrigo Duterte terminated peace talks with the communist rebels in November 2017. Efforts to resume the talks have failed amid escalating attacks by the guerrillas.
