A New People's Army (NPA) combatant was killed in a clash with government troops amid continued offensive against the rebel group in Zamboanga del Sur, a top military official said Saturday. Lt. Col. Nolasco Coderos Jr., 97th Infantry Battalion (97IB) commander, said the clash broke out in Sitio Tulah, Barangay Sunop, Dumingag, Zamboanga del Sur at about 3:33 p.m. Friday. Coderos said the slain rebel was not immediately identified except that the latter belongs to the defunct NPA's front committee Big Beautiful Country. He said the clash ensued when the troops chanced upon the NPA rebels while on security patrol in Sitio Tulah, Barangay Sunop. 'The troops launch(ed) security patrol after they receive(d) information about the presence of NPA rebels in the area,' Coderos said in a phone interview. 'They (NPA rebels) go around from one community to the other, forcing the residents to give them food and money.' He said the troops also recovered assorted war materiel and personal belongings abandoned by the NPA rebels, who fled after the 22-minute firefight. The remains of the slain NPA rebel were turned over to the village officials for proper identification and disposition. Coderos said the NPA rebels were the same group that figured in a firefight against the combined team of 97IB and 53rd Infantry Battalion troops in Barangay Paraiso, Mahayag, Zamboanga del Sur on Wednesday. Paraiso is adjacent to the village of Sunop located at the borders of Mahayag and Dumingag towns. A militiaman was injured during the clash in Paraiso on Wednesday.
Source: Philippines News Agency
