8 killed, 5 injured in Cotabato landmine attack

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - Eight soldiers were killed and five others were wounded in two landmine attacks in North Cotabato today, the military said.

During the first attach, which occurred at 9: 20 a.m. local time, soldiers of the 38th infantry battalion were hit in a landmine at a junction of Caridad and Bituan villages. Firefight ensued afterwards, killing seven government soldiers, and one was wounded, said Ramon Zagala, chief of the Public Affairs Office of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

At 11:25 a.m. local time, troops under the 57th infantry battalion were also suffered a landmine attacked, killing one and injuring four others, he said.

The military conjectured it was hit by Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) of the New People's Army, armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, which has been waging a guerrilla campaign in the countryside for four decades.