KIDAPAWAN CITY – A communist guerilla was killed and a government soldier was wounded when their groups exchanged fires in a remote sitio in Barangay Basak in Magpet, North Cotabato, around 9:20 a.m. Sunday, Army reports said.
According to a report from the 19th Infantry Battalion, soldiers, led by 2nd Lieutenants Barco and Bunao encountered an undetermined number of guerillas under the New People’s Army Front 51, whose area of operations include the hinterlands on the northeast of Cotabato.
The firefight lasted for 30 minutes. The rebels withdrew to the hilly portions of Magpet, specifically Sitio Paraiso.
The soldiers recovered from the encounter site an M14 rifle and an M653 rifle with attached M203, the report added.
A top Army official said their wounded soldier sustained only minor injuries and was placed in a hospital in the city for treatment. (Malu Cadelina Manar)