Philippine army says kills 10 communist rebels
MANILA, Feb 9 (Reuters) - The Philippine army said on Thursday it had killed at least 10 communist rebels from the New People's Army (NPA) in running gun battles in mountainous villages south of the capital.
Major-General Alexander Yano said the fighting, which began on Sunday, was triggered by a rebel raid on an army detachment in a farming village in Catanauan town, on the Bondoc peninsula.
"We have recovered, so far, at least 10 bodies," Yano told reporters. "We have deployed extra troops to run after the rebels that fled to Mulanay and San Narciso towns."
The insurgency by the NPA, the armed wing of the Philippine communist party, has killed more than 40,000 people since the late 1960s. It has been labelled a terrorist group by the United States and some European states.
Peace talks between the communists and the government, brokered by Norway, collapsed in August 2004 because Manila declined a request by the rebels to persuade Washington and others to remove them from the blacklists.
The Philippines, Washington's closest security partner in Southeast Asia, estimates the NPA membership at more than 7,000, down from a peak of 25,000 in the mid-1980s.
Yano said the army may have hit a main NPA unit on the Bondoc peninsula in Quezon province, a known stronghold of the rebels on the northern island of Luzon.
In interviews with Reuters last month, officials said the communist rebels were the main security threat to the country.
Philippine security forces are also fighting several Muslim rebel groups, some of which are suspected of having links to al Qaeda and the regional militant network Jemaah Islamiah.
Major-General Alexander Yano said the fighting, which began on Sunday, was triggered by a rebel raid on an army detachment in a farming village in Catanauan town, on the Bondoc peninsula.
"We have recovered, so far, at least 10 bodies," Yano told reporters. "We have deployed extra troops to run after the rebels that fled to Mulanay and San Narciso towns."
The insurgency by the NPA, the armed wing of the Philippine communist party, has killed more than 40,000 people since the late 1960s. It has been labelled a terrorist group by the United States and some European states.
Peace talks between the communists and the government, brokered by Norway, collapsed in August 2004 because Manila declined a request by the rebels to persuade Washington and others to remove them from the blacklists.
The Philippines, Washington's closest security partner in Southeast Asia, estimates the NPA membership at more than 7,000, down from a peak of 25,000 in the mid-1980s.
Yano said the army may have hit a main NPA unit on the Bondoc peninsula in Quezon province, a known stronghold of the rebels on the northern island of Luzon.
In interviews with Reuters last month, officials said the communist rebels were the main security threat to the country.
Philippine security forces are also fighting several Muslim rebel groups, some of which are suspected of having links to al Qaeda and the regional militant network Jemaah Islamiah.
posted by Marko at 2/09/2006 07:55:00 AM
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