6 suspected NPA rebels killed in Agusan del Norte, Bukidnon clashes

Six suspected New People’s Army rebels were killed in two separate encounters with government security forces in southern Philippines on Monday, the military said.

A statement form the Philippine Army’s 4th Infantry Division on Tuesday said the clashes occurred in Malaybalay City in Bukidnon and in Butuan City in Agusan del Norte.

The statement said the first encounter when joint forces of the 1st Special Forces Battalion (1SFBn) and the 8th Infantry Battalion (8IB) swooped down on a suspected rebel encampment at Sitio Cogon Cogon in Barangay Manalog in Malaybalay City in Bukidnon at 6:45 a.m.

Five rebels died in the clash, with government troops also recovering  six AK-47 rifles, two M16 rifles, three M653 rifles, and one caliber .45 pistol.

No casualties were reported on the government side.

Meanwhile, the second clash transpired around 3 p.m. that same day in Barangay Bugsukan, Butuan City, where a suspected rebel identified as one Alias Jimboy, was killed.

Retrieved were two M16 rifles with magazines and on M203 40-mm grenade launcher.

Major General Romeo Brawner Jr., 4th ID commanding general, said the Army is working with the Philippine National Police in conducting intensified operations against the rebels.

“The CTG will never win in this fight. With the PNP making their presence felt in the anti-insurgency campaign, we expect more and more CTG members and leaders to heed our call for peace after the series of setbacks they suffered in the past days in Bukidnon,” Brawner said in a statement. — Joahna Lei Casilao/RSJ, GMA News