11 NPAs, 4 Manobos slain in Agusan attack

BUTUAN CITY, Philippines – At least 11 New People’s Army rebels and four security personnel were killed when the insurgents swooped down on a mining community in Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur yesterday.

Many of the 11 guerrillas were killed when elements of the Army’s 401st Infantry Battalion stationed in nearby Leyte town launched a counter-attack.

Maj. Christian Uy, spokesman of the Army’s 4th Infantry Division, said the rebels attacked the mining community owned and operated by Datu Calpit, a Manobo tribal chief. The four slain security personnel were Manobo tribesmen. – With Jaime Laude, Edith Regalado, Cecille Suerte Felipe