| Fred, we need a combo pic for these guys: dancing hoaris in verker voman red peasant sacks or something ... |
| This one? Until I can find one with a little more resolution... |
The firefight with the communist guerrillas occurred on the outskirts of Butuan City, 810 kilometres south of Manila, on Thursday, said Lieutenant Colonel Buenaventura Pascual, a military spokesman. Pascual said soldiers were on patrol in the village of Los Angeles when they encountered an undetermined number of rebels, triggering the firefight.Local communist rebel leader Bandi Mamauag died during the fighting, while a woman guerrilla identified only as Imee, a squad commander, died in hospital from gunshot wounds.
In the southern province of Zamboanga del Sur, troops clashed with Muslim gunmen in the town of Dinas also on Thursday, killing three of them, Pascual said. Troops recovered three high-powered firearms and one pump boat from the armed men. Pascual said the military was uncertain whether the gunmen were affiliated with any of the Muslim rebel and criminal groups that operate in the southern Philippines.