Manila, Dec 20 (IANS) Two soldiers were killed while three others were wounded after landmines allegedly planted by rebels exploded during military operations in Camarines Sur province on Luzon island, the Philippine military said on Saturday.
According to a Facebook reel by the Philippine Army’s 9th Infantry Division, the incident occurred on Friday in a mountainous village of Balatan municipality.
The army said the soldiers were hit by explosions from anti-personnel landmines, Xinhua news agency reported. Following the incident, the military said it has intensified pursuit operations against the New People’s Army (NPA) rebels.
Earlier this month, two soldiers were killed in a clash with members of the left-wing NPA rebels in Samar province in the central Philippines, the Philippine military had said.
Lieutenant General Antonio Nafarrete, Commanding General of the Philippine Army, said the encounter happened at around 1 am local time on December 3 in a village in San Jose De Buan, a municipality in the province.
Last week, the Philippine military said that a suspected NPA member was killed in a firefight with government troops in Silvino Lobos town, Northern Samar province in the central Philippines, where the insurgents were allegedly extorting from residents.
A spokesperson for the Army’s 8th Infantry Division said soldiers launched an operation early on December 11 in the hinterlands of Gusaran village following reports that rebels had been forcing farmers to surrender portions of their harvest.
As troops approached an NPA encampment, they came under fire from an undetermined number of insurgents, sparking a 15-minute clash. The rebels later withdrew, leaving behind a slain comrade, an M16 rifle, and other personal belongings, the spokesperson said.
The NPA has waged a decades-long insurgency since 1969, seeking to overthrow the government. The group continues to operate mainly in rural areas across Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao, though security officials say its ranks have sharply declined in recent years.
While NPA continues to operate in rural areas across the archipelagic country, the military said that its strength has dwindled to about 1,000 fighters, down from a peak of some 25,000 in the mid-1980s.
–IANS
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