ILOILO CITY – A New People’s Army rebel was killed in an encounter with the Philippine Army in Leon town, Iloilo province on Thursday, May 2.
MAP of the encounter site.
Lt. Col. J-Jay Javines, spokesperson of the 3rd Infantry Division (ID), said the gun battle with the 61st Infantry Battalion (IB) occurred in Barangay Cawilihan around 7:30 a.m. “There’s a casualty and that’s the only thing I can confirm,” Javines said.
Javines said they have yet to identify the slain communist guerrilla.
Several high-powered firearms were recovered in the encounter site.
The 61st IB said the NPA rebels belong to the Regional Sentro de Gravidad (RSDG) and remnants of the NPA Southern Front Committee in Panay Island.
Troops are conducting follow-up operations against the fleeing NPA rebels.