Six Philippine troops killed in Communist rebel ambush on Samar island
- Officials say New People’s Army detonated bombs in surprise early morning attack on soldiers marching through a mountainous area of Samar island
Members of the New People’s Army (NPA) detonated bombs in a predawn ambush of soldiers marching through a mountainous area of central Samar island, triggering a four-hour firefight.
“Our troops had received a report that NPA forces were extorting money from residents and so they went there to take action,” said regional military spokesman Captain Reynaldo Aragones.
Rebel casualties had not been determined, but Colonel Ramon Zagala confirmed the soldiers’ deaths.
The 4,000-strong NPA, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, has waged a guerilla campaign that has killed up to 40,000 people since 1969.
It marked the 50th anniversary of its founding in March with an assault on a police station that killed three rebels and wounded two police officers.
