BACOLOD CITY – Three soldiers sustained minor injuries after engaging in a clash with suspected New People’s Army rebels in Sitio Morino, Barangay Paitan, Escalante City, Negros Occidental yesterday morning.
Wounded were Corporals Homer Aniversario, Ronald Tuhao, and Jerald Caluyo.
In a report from the 303rd Infantry Brigade, troops of the 79th Infantry Battalion were conducting combat operations around 6:45 a.m., following reports on the presence of NPA in the area, when they encountered about 30 suspected rebels.
The soldiers fought in a 45-minute running gun battle against the NPAs who reportedly used an anti-personnel mine.
Then the armed men fled towards Sitio Sampinit, a military report said.
Aniversario was hit on his neck while Tuhao and Caluyo sustained injuries on his right leg and right ear, respectively.
All three soldiers are now stable in a hospital.
Meanwhile, the NPA reportedly suffered five casualties after they were seen dragging the bodies of their slain comrades from the encounter site. (Glazyl Masculino)
