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| Southeast Asia |
| 7 commies banged in Philippines |
| 2010-01-15 |
| [Straits Times] SEVEN communist guerrillas, three of them minors, were killed in a clash with government forces on Thursday in the hills outside the Philippine capital, the army said. An army infantry unit fought a 30-strong group from the New People's Army (NPA) near the town of Dona Remedios Trinidad, 50km north of Manila, before dawn, Lieutenant-Colonel Arnulfo Burgos told reporters. The bodies of the seven dead rebels were recovered by the troops, who sustained no casualties during the hour-long firefight. One of the dead was a girl who appeared to be under 18 years old, he added. The retreating rebels left behind eight assault rifles along with the dead, Col Burgos said. The Philippine military said last month it had shrunk the territory of long-running Maoist insurgent operations, leaving four central islands free of guerrillas for the first time in decades. Chief of staff Victor Ibrado said the government hoped by the time of upcoming presidential elections in May to have destroyed the NPA, which had seen its fighting force depleted to below 5,000 personnel. |
| Posted by:Fred |