1st LD Writethru: Three killed, 6 wounded in S. Philippine clash

One government troop soldier and two members of the leftist New People's Army were killed while six others were wounded in a firefight in the southern Philippine province of Compostela Valley on Sunday noon, the military said Monday.

The clash started when troops from the Army's 71st Infantry Battalion met with about 50 leftist rebels while patrolling in Napnapan village in Compostela Valley province at Sunday noon, said Alberto Caber, public affairs officer of the military's Eastern Mindanao Command.

The soldiers and the rebels exchanged gunfires for at least 30 minutes before the insurgents withdrew, Caber said.

Citing accounts of local civilians, two of the rebels were killed and six others were injured. The two killed NPA bandits were brought away by their companions while they escaped.

Meanwhile, at least 30 rebels burned a security outpost of the Apex Mining in Maco town, also in Compostela Valley, at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, said 10th Infantry Division public affairs officer 1Lt. Alexadre Cabales.

"The security post, manned by civilian security guards, was burned to the ground after the civilian guards had to abandon their post due to the overwhelming number of attacking NPAs," Cabales said.

The troops are still on pursuit operations in the area, he said.

The NPA, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, was formed in 1969. Latest military estimates placed the NPA's strength at more than 4,000. Endi