5 soldiers hurt in clashes with suspected NPAs in Cagayan

Five Army soldiers were wounded following clashes with suspected New People's Army rebels in the northern Philippine province of Cagayan Thursday morning, a regional military spokesperson said Friday.

Lieutenant Colonel Isagani Nato of the Armed Forces Northern Luzon Command said that at 10:36 a.m. Thursday, patrolling elements of the 17th Infantry Battalion engaged about 30 insurgents at Sitio Mureg in Barangay Balani in Sto. Niño town.

Nato said the rebels were headed by a certain Bladdy.

The initial clash lasted for 20 minutes. A second encounter erupted at 11:40 a.m. when the troops pursued the fleeing rebels. 

It could not be immediately ascertained if the government troops incurred casualties during the first or second skirmish.

Pursuit operations are still ongoing, Nato said. 

Clashes between government and rebel forces continue as peace talks remain stalled. — RSJ, GMA News