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By Anthony Vargas, Reporter
COMMUNIST rebels attacked on Saturday a group of
soldiers providing route security to the convoy of Senator Edgardo
Angara in a remote village in Aurora province.
Initial reports reaching Camp Aguinaldo said the
attack took place about 1 p.m. in Barangay Nipoo, Dinalunga, Aurora,
the home province of Senator Angara.
One soldier was reportedly hurt when rebels
attacked a platoon of soldiers from the Bravo Coy of the 69th
Infantry Battalion (IB) providing security to the senator.
Lt. Gen. Rodrigo Maclanga, commander of the
military’s Northern Luzon Command (Nolcom) said Senator Angara was
in no harm’s way when the incident took place.
“They were on their way back to base after
providing security assistance to the visit of Senator Angara when
they were attacked by the rebels,” Maclang said in a text message.
The Nolcom commander added that ground
commanders have advised Senator Angara not to continue his land
travel to Aurora due to threats posed by the rebels.
The attack on army troops took place a day
before the 22-day long unilateral holiday truce declared by the
government against the rebels last month was to end.
The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP)
during its 39th Anniversary last month has directed its armed wing,
the New People’s Army (NPA) to intensify its offensive against the
government.
The military in its year-end report said that
its confident of beating the communist rebellion way ahead of the
deadline that was imposed by President Arroyo early 2007.
The CPP-NPA, with 6,100 members, have been
waging nearly four decades of protracted war in the countryside
against the government resulting in thou-sands of deaths and
millions in revenue losses.
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