Troops kill 15 NPAs, nab 12 more in Surigao Norte

At least 15 suspected members of the New People’s Army were killed while 12 others were captured in a clash with government troops in Surigao del Norte that began over the weekend, the spokesman for the Philippine Army said Monday.

Lieutenant Colonel Romeo Brawner said that the suspected insurgents were slain and arrested in pursuit operations by the Army’s 30th Infantry Battalion and the 42nd Military Intelligence Company in Siargao Island.

Brawner said the pursuing troops were augmented by the local police, which helped in the follow-up operations launched after the NPA rebels attacked a police station and burned a cellular phone transmission in Dapa and General Luna towns late Saturday.

Eastern Mindanao regional military spokesman Maj. Armand Rico earlier said two policemen were killed and four others were wounded in the encounter.

Initially, 50 NPA rebels attacked a police station in Dapa town, where they carted away a number of assault rifles and pistols. After government officials blocked exit points in the area, the rebels split into two groups.

One of the two groups fled bv boat to Lapinigan Island, where they remain trapped as of 9 a.m. in the island’s forested interior, Brawner said.

Firefight continues as of this posting, the Army spokesman added.

Surigao del Norte, a province of nearly 500,000 people, is about 430 miles southeast of Manila. - (GMANews.TV)