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15 Maoist militants killed in Batangas battle
 [Inquirer] Fifteen New People Army rebels, including a female student of the University of the Philippines Manila and four other women, were killed in a battle with government troops in Batangas province on Tuesday night. The gun battle came days after President Rodrigo Duterte called off peace talks with the Maoist militants.Philippine officials said the dead rebels comprised the western Batangas command of the NPA, armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). The clash capped a series of skirmishes since last week between the militants and the Philippine Air Force, which conducts counterinsurgency operations in Batangas province. Maj. Engelberto Nioda Jr., commander of the PAF 730th Combat Group, said authorities were tipped off to the presence of vehicles in Nasugbu, 65 kilometers south of Manila. Joint police and military checkpoints were set up on the routes to Calatagan and Balayan towns after they received information about vehicles “full of armed rebels”. Provincial police director Alden Delvo said the intel they received was that a three-vehicle convoy would carry the militants. But the authorities encountered two in the adjacent villages of Aga and Kaylaway, along the dimly lit part of the Tagaytay-Nasugbu highway. Delvo said, "The jeep did not stop [for inspection] and [the passengers] opened fire at our troops." The firefight prompted a 2-kilometer chase. In a phone interview, Major Engelberto Nioda said, "It seemed like a convoy. First a Montero [carrying PAF troops], then the enemy’s van, then three more [government] vehicles, the jeep, then us." Five people from the jeep and nine from the van were killed. The authorities said the slain rebels were the ones involved in a series of clashes in the villages of Utod and Bunducan, also in Nasugbu, after soldiers overran an NPA camp. On November 24, Duterte told soldiers to expect “virulent” battles with the NPA after he scuttled peace talks with the communist insurgents. He accused the NPA of carrying out attacks despite his peace efforts. Posted by: ryuge 2017-11-30 |
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