CAMP EVANGELISTA, Cagayan de Oro City, (PNA) — An army soldier was killed while six others were wounded as the firefight between communist New People’s Army (NPA) and government troopers in Misamis Oriental drew toward Thursday, the military said on Saturday.
Capt. Christian Uy, the army’s Public Affairs Division, identified the lone fatality as Private First Class Ellan Ramones, of the army’s 403rd Brigade based in the neighboring province of Bukidnon.
The wounded were Cpl. Julius Agusen, Pfc. Jose Noli Pabingwit, Pfc. Cris Lorenzon, Pfc. Dioscoro Briones Jr., Pfc Geofrey Purisima and Pfc. Junard Eborde, all of the army’s 403rd Brigade, too, Uy added.
He said the sporadic fighting had a lull on Friday since the armed skirmishes took place in the hinterlands of Lagonglong in Misamis Oriental last Monday morning.
The troops were way waylaid while conducting hot pursuit operations against communist guerrillas who attacked an army outpost in Lantad, a former rebel stronghold in Balingasag last Sept. 23 killing four militiamen and an army sergeant.
Uy said that the four army soldiers were wounded in the Monday firefight while the one fatality and two other wounded soldiers were the casualties in other skirmishes last Wednesday afternoon in Lagonglong.
“The fighting has stopped since Friday but the government has sent more troops to scour the hinterlands in the borders of Balingasag and Lagonglong to clear the area of rebel forces,” Uy added.