Thursday, July 31, 2008

Alleged NPA rebel killed in Kalinga clash

MANILA, Philippines - A suspected New People's Army (NPA) rebel was killed following a clash with Army personnel in the northern Philippine province of Kalinga over the weekend, the Philippine Army said Monday.

About 4 p.m. Sunday, operating troops from the 21st Infantry Battalion engaged an undetermined number of NPA rebels at Sitio Magmag-an in Upper Uma village in Lubuagan town, said Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner, spokesman for the Philippine Army.

Aside from killing one rebel, the operating troops also recovered a Carbine and a .22-caliber Magnum revolver, Brawner said.

No government casualties were reported in the said encounter.

The NPA is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). The outlawed group has been waging a Maoist insurgency campaign for nearly four decades.

Peace talks with the mainstream communist movement remain stalled since August 2004.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo had ordered government forces to crush the communist insurgency by the end of her term in June 2010. *GMANews.TV

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