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Two Filipino government soldiers were killed and another wounded by
the left-wing New People’s Army (NPA) guerrillas in San Remigio
town in Antique, central Philippines, the military said Saturday.
Quoting reports from the field, Army spokesman
Ernesto Torres said the soldiers were on their way back to their
headquarters after providing security to a local town mayor when
they were waylaid by the rebels on Friday.
Torres said some 20 rebels set off a landmine
before opening fire on the government soldiers who were traveling on
foot, killing two soldiers.
The rebels also suffered an undetermined number
of casualties in the 15-minute skirmish. The soldiers also lost two
M-16 rifles in the encounter, said the spokesman.
Peace negotiations between the government and
the NPA and its political organization, the Communist Party of the
Philippines, bogged down in 2004 after the United States included
both groups in its list of foreign terrorist organizations.
Philippine President Gloria Arroyo has ordered
the military to defeat the NPA, which has about 6,000 men, before
2010, the year her term expires.
Set up 39 years ago, the NPA has since been
fighting government forces in the countryside.
-- Xinhua
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