Communist rebels kill 6 Philippine troops in ambush
A communist rebel ambush has killed six Philippine soldiers and wounded 20 others, the military says, in one of the deadliest assaults in the nation's five-decade-old Maoist insurgency.
Troops patrolling on foot on the eastern island of Samar were hit with homemade bombs and fought a 30-minute gunfight with New People's Army rebels on Monday.
"They used IEDs (improvised explosive devices), leading to a large number of casualties," regional military spokesman Captain Reynaldo Aragones told AFP on Tuesday, adding one rebel was also killed.
The NPA, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, launched its rebellion to create a Maoist state in 1969. According to the military, the insurgency has claimed 40,000 lives.
Samar is an impoverished region that is fertile ground for recruitment by the 4,000-member NPA.
"There are many areas still outside the government's reach," Aragones said.
The NPA killed six soldiers in a similar attack elsewhere on Samar in April, while a military raid uncovered and destroyed an NPA bomb-making camp last month, he added.
President Rodrigo Duterte shelved peace talks with the Maoists in 2017, alleging their leaders were not interested in making peace.
(Source: AFP)
Iran dismisses UK, Australia’s ‘baseless’ claims, urges end to interventions in West Asia
Islamophobic graffiti found in Sydney suburb sparks outrage
Nobel Peace Prize winner Nihon Hidankyo calls for nuclear-free world
Dec. 22: ‘Axis of Resistance’ operations against Israeli occupation
‘Abhorrent’: Oxfam says only 12 trucks delivered aid in North Gaza since Oct.
VIDEO | Leader receives religious eulogists on Hazrat Fatima birth anniv.
Pope Francis slams Israel’s ‘machine-gunning’ of Gaza children
US hostage-taking of Iranian nationals violation of intl. law: Deputy FM
VIDEO | Carol Singers for Palestine on London’s Parliament Square
Ansarullah says ‘Israeli terrorists’ incapable of confronting Yemen, warns of secret weapons
VIDEO | Yemenis praise the military for its successful operations against Israel
PressTV NEWSLETTER
now
This makes it easy to access the Press TV website
