MANILA — Five soldiers were wounded while an undetermined number of communist rebels were killed and wounded following a series of skirmishes in Cagayan province Thursday morning.
Northern Luzon Command (Nolcom) spokesperson, Lt. Col. Isagani Nato, said troops of the 17th Infantry Battalion under Joint Task Force “Tala” were patrolling Sitio Mureg, Barangay Balani, Sto Niño town when they encountered about 30 members of the New People’s Army (NPA) under the command of one “Bladdy”, triggering a 20-minute gun-battle, at about 10:36 a.m.
Nato said the rebels quickly fled and were cornered in an adjacent area at about 11:40 a.m., starting another 10-minute clash.
In the encounter, the rebels retreated after sustaining an undetermined number of casualties.
Pursuit operations are still ongoing, Nato said. (Priam Nepomuceno/PNA)
