Military unleashes ‘elite K-9 team’ to track down NPA rebels

From the Philippine News Agency (Apr 4): Military unleashes ‘elite K-9 team’ to track down NPA rebels

The military sent on Monday the “elite K-9 team” to track down the New People’s Army (NPA) responsible for the roadblocks along the highways here Sunday evening.

Capt. Norman Tagros, the spokesperson of the army’s 8th Infantry Battalion (8IB), said that the special tracking team is backed by the combined forces of the police and the military.

Tagros said that about 20 NPA rebels reportedly seized three police officers in a roadblock established along the Sayre Highway in Bukidnon about 6 p.m. Sunday.

The NPA bandits disguised themselves as soldiers and PNP personnel as they were wearing military and police uniforms while posting an AFP/PNP Checkpoint signboard along the highway, Tagros said.

He said that the incident lasted for about 30 minutes as the rebels went from vehicle to vehicle taking their vehicle keys and held the civilians at gunpoint.

Tagros said that the government troopers have been deployed along with the elite K-9 team to conduct a pursuit operation of the NPA rebels in the mountains of Bukidnon.

According to Tagros, the military has issued an advisory three days prior to the incident Sunday evening about the plan of the NPA to conduct AFP or PNP checkpoints using the Comelec checkpoint signboards.

Following the advisory, the military immediately conducted patrols in Bukidnon and engaged the NPA rebels in a running gun battle on the outskirts of Malaybalay City last Saturday (April 2). No casualties were reported in the incident, Tagros said.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=873023