Soldier, civilian hurt in Agusan clash with NPA

A soldier and a civilian guide were seriously wounded in an encounter between Philippine Army troops and alleged members of the communist-led New People’s Army (NPA) in Sta. Josefa town in Agusan del Sur Thursday morning. The Caraga Regional Police Office reported that a firefight between a platoon of the Army's 26th Infantry Battalion and about 30 NPA rebels ensued in Sitio Tagmanoro, Barangay Sayon in Sta. Josefa town. Police identified the injured soldier as Pfc. Herbert Balodon. The civilian guide’s identity was not disclosed. The rebels, according to police and military reports, belonged to the NPA’s Guerilla Front 3 of its Southern Mindanao command. Military and police did not say if the NPA suffered casualties. Army troops said however they recovered two improvised explosive devices weighing a kilogram each, seven backpacks, one empty magazine a 7.62-mm rifle, a bandolier for a Garand rifle with empty clips, and documents and personal belongings of the NPA rebels. The recent clash came just three days after five soldiers also belonging to the 26th IB were killed on Tuesday in an NPA attack on a military outpost in Veruela town, also in Agusan del Sur. (See: 5 soldiers dead, 1 hurt in Agusan Sur rebel attack) The NPA’s Alejandro Lanaja Command said in a statement that the attack on the Army’s Veruela outpost last Tuesday is “a punitive action against the 26th IB for its abuses and violations of human rights." The NPA, however, has yet to claim Thursday’s attack in Sta. Josefa town.—Ben Serrano/JV, GMANews.TV