Gov’t troopers, NPA clash in Agusan del Norte

From the Philippine News Agency (Mar 16): Gov’t troopers, NPA clash in Agusan del Norte

Government troopers and the communist New People’s Army (NPA) clashed in a 20-minute running gun battle in Carmen, Agusan del Norte Friday afternoon.

Col. Eugenio Julio Osias, IV, spokesperson of the army’s 4th Infantry Division here, said the army made a surpise attack on the rebel’s lair in Sitio Kabayawa, Barangay Poblacion, Carmen based on information from the public.

He said government soldiers recovered various subversive materials in the encounter site that include 20 pairs of Battle Dress Uniform (BDU), one improvised explosive device (20-litre can with detonating cord, blasting cap and triggering device), one ICOM charger, one motorcycle without plate number, 100 rounds of 7.62-mm ammunition, six backpacks containing propaganda materials and other subversive documents, 19 lunchboxes, and a terrain model laid on the ground.

The rebels are believed from the Guerrilla Front 4A who were reportedly planning wide-scale atrocity based on information gathered in the encounter site and recovered materials, Osias added.

He said government troopers are now pursuing the rebels who fled deeper toward the mountainous terrain in the borders of Agusan del Norte and Misamis Oriental.

Osias said there were no reports of injury nor casualty on the government side.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=507681