Suspected militants from the communist New Peopleâs Army (NPA) killed an Army sergeant and injured six others in an ambush in Mindanao in apparent retaliation for the recent capture of their leader by government security forces.Inspector Filomeno Munoz said the ambush occurred Tuesday noon about 800 meters away from a military patrol base in a remote village in the town of Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur province. He said the sergeant and his men were aboard a military truck when the militants launched the attack.
Security experts think the ambush was in retaliation for the capture of Benito Tiamzon, head of the Communist Party of the Philippines and the NPA, its armed component, on the island province of Cebu on Saturday.
The NPA regional command in Southern Mindanao warned it would âconduct widespread and intensive tactical offensivesâ against government forces in retaliation for the capture of Tiamzon, his wife Wilma, identified as the movementâs finance officer, and five other rebels.