2 rebels slain in Agusan clashes

MANILA, Philippines — Two suspected New People’s Army (NPA) guerrillas were killed in a series of clashes with government security forces in Agusan del Sur over the weekend.

Army troopers recovered the bodies of the slain rebels at the scene of the encounters that broke out on Sunday morning in Barangay Binucayan, Loreto town.

The first rebel, tagged by the military as a communist terrorist, was killed in a two-hour sporadic fighting in Sitio Union, according to 1/Lt. Amadeuz Celestial, civil military operations officer of the Army’s  60th Infantry Battalion.

Aside from the cadavers, authorities recovered an M16 rifle, a 15-kilo improvised explosive device and subversive materials.

The second rebel was killed in a pursuit operation launched by the military in the afternoon of the same day.

Troopers recovered an M16 rifle, a rifle grenade, ammunition and detonating cord from the scene of the firefight.

The skirmishes forced some 220 families to vacate their homes for fear of getting caught in the crossfire.

Loreto Mayor Lorife Magadan-Otaza ordered an emergency response team to assist the displaced residents.