Classes suspended as hot pursuit vs NPA rebs continues in Davao Sur town

From the Manila Times (Mar 11): Classes suspended as hot pursuit vs NPA rebs continues in Davao Sur town

DAVAO CITY: Classes in all levels in Matanao, Davao del Sur are still suspended since Monday even as military hot pursuit operations have continued against communist rebels who attacked the town’s police station and an Army detachment killing two policemen and seven soldiers.

Mayor Butch Fernandez was forced to suspend classes to prevent students from being hit in the crossfire.

Military operations spread as far as the hinterlands of neighboring Magsaysay town, Hagonoy and Kiblawan, all of Davao del Sur; Colombio in Sultan Kudarat; and Tulunan in North Cotabato.

Col. Norman Marcus Flores, commander of the 1002nd Infantry Brigade, warned his men against landmines possibly planted by the fleeing members of the NPA’s Front Committee 72 led by one Felix Amodia alias Commander Jing.

Seven members of the 39th Infantry Battalion were killed while eight others were wounded when the vehicle they were riding was hit by a landmine explosion on Monday morning while they were chasing the rebels in Barangay Asbang in Matanao.

Earlier at 4:00 a.m., a band of 50 rebels attacked the Matanao Municipal Police Station, killing two policemen and wounding five others. They also carted away four Armalite rifles.

http://manilatimes.net/classes-suspended-as-hot-pursuit-vs-npa-rebs-continues-in-davao-sur-town/81692/