Soldiers hunt rebels in Tapaz

From the Panay News (Jul 22): Soldiers hunt rebels in Tapaz

Philippine Army soldiers are running after armed men they identified as New People’s Army (NPA) members in Tapaz, Capiz.

A firefight ensued between the armed men and troops from the 61st Infantry Battalion (61IB) in the mountainous area of Barangay Roosevelt, Tapaz on Saturday, the military said.

Soldiers from the battalion’s Alpha Company scoured the area after receiving a report from the locals about the presence of armed men, said Lieutenant Hazel Durutan of the 61IB.

They came across and traded gunfire with 20 rebels under the NPA’s Central Front Committee (CFC) at 1:50 p.m., Durutan told Panay News in a phone interview.

The encounter site is a rebel-infested area, according to Senior Superintendent Samuel Nacion, Capiz police director.

According to Nacion, the CFC is led by Secretary Ted Caballes and Digoy Paderes.

No casualty or injury was reported among the government troops, Durutan said.

The firefight lasted 10 minutes. The rebels fled when augmentation personnel from the 3rd Infantry Division arrived, said the military officer.

“Thanks God walang nasugatan sa mga tao natin,” Durutan said.

As of this writing “we could not confirm if there are casualties or wounded on the part of the rebels,” the officer told Panay News. “We are still conducting a hot pursuit.”/

https://www.panaynews.net/soldiers-hunt-rebels-in-tapaz/