Philippine troops kill 2 communist rebels, capture jungle camp containing bombs

Philippine troops kill 2 rebels, capture base

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine troops attacked a communist rebel camp to rescue an abducted soldier and a militiaman in the country’s south Sunday, killing at least two communist guerrillas but failing to find the captives, the military said.

The country’s 41-year communist rebellion — one of Asia’s longest-running — has raged on despite a deadline set by outgoing President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo for the military to crush the rebels by the end of her term on June 30.

Army troops assaulted a key New People’s Army camp in a hinterland near Cateel town in Davao Oriental province after receiving information that army Staff Sgt. Bienvenido Arguilles and the militiaman, who were abducted by the rebels on June 19, were being detained there, army spokesman Capt. Emmanuel Garcia said.

The troops clashed with about 50 guerrillas for half an hour, killing two rebels. At least six wounded rebels were seen by troops being dragged away by the guerrillas, who withdrew in small groups, army battalion commander Lt. Col. Gilbert Saret said.

Troops found four homemade bombs and six assault rifles in the camp, which had 40 wooden bunkers that could accommodate up to 100 rebels, Saret said.

They also found the clothes and other belongings of Arguilles, who was abducted along with the militiaman in the mountain town of Monkayo in Compostela Valley province near Davao Oriental, an agricultural and gold-mining province about 620 miles (1,000 kilometers) southeast of Manila.

“The troops didn’t see them,” Garcia said. “They may have fled in the heat of the firefight.”

The Maoist rebels, which are on a U.S. terrorist blacklist, have become more active in recent months, attacking remote military and police outposts in the countryside to seize badly needed weapons.

Peace talks stalled in 2004 after the rebels accused the government of instigating their inclusion on U.S. and European terrorist lists. Norway, which brokered the negotiations, has been trying to revive the talks.