Three soldiers were killed while two others were wounded on Sunday as government troops clashed with the same band of New People’s Army rebels in the same area in Mountain Province, which the military earlier reported it has already cleared from rebels.
The encounter at Sitio Dandanac, Barangay Tamboan, Besao, Mountain Province, followed the firefight on Saturday in the same area, wherein a member of the Army’s 81st Infantry Battalion was wounded.
Armed Forces Northern Luzon Command Spokesman Lt. Col. Isagani Nato said the latest firefight occurred at around 2:50 p.m. on Sunday and raged for about three hours.
The military also initially reported that soldiers lost a K3 Squad Automatic, two R-4 rifles, an M-203 grenade launcher and a Harris handheld radio during the clash, but Nato said the firearms have been recovered as soldiers conduct clearing and pursuit operations in the area.