Garcia said that three soldiers who were wounded in the "fierce All Saints’ Day battle" have been pronounced out of danger after they were pulled out by an Air Force helicopter under heavy fire from the rebels at their camp in Barangay Kanagatan in Baggao, Cagayan. They were identified as TSgt. Tomas de la Cruz, Cpl. Roque Ritumalda, and Private 1st Class Henico Ortiz.
He also said that the Air Force Huey helicopter which was hit by a sniper bullet during the casualty evacuation sustained only minor damage at its lower part. One of the crewmen in the chopper, piloted by Capt. Orly Brillantes, also sustained only minor injury when he was hit by a splinter from the part of his aircraft that was hit by the bullet.
Garcia said that soldiers of the 501st and the 41st infantry brigades of the Army, led by Col.. Gabriel Habacon and Lt. Col. Aguedo Vilches , respectively, have been pursuing some 50 NPA rebels who fled to the Sierra Madre mountains after the fierce gunbattle which also reportedly killed at least six of the communist guerrillas and wounded scores of others. The bodies of the slain rebels, however, were reportedly carted away by their comrades.
Garcia said that the camp turned out to be not only the base of the Henry Abraham front of the NPA in Cagayan, but also the base of the Cagayan Valley NPA regional party committee. "There were at least 26 huts there and materials found there by the military indicated the place was a training camp for the rebels, " he said.
While the fleeing rebels apparently carted away all their arms before their camp was completely overtaken by the military, they left behind office equipment, rounds of ammunition, significant amount of food supplies and backpacks, Garcia also said.
Garcia said that the capture of the camp was a big blow to the NPA in the Cagayan region, even as pursuit operations have continued since last Nov. l.
"The operations have been hampered though by bad weather in the area which is located between a deep ravine and the steep slopes of the Sierra Madre," he said.
Brig. Gen. Rodolfo Alvarado, commander of the 5th Infantry Division, said that the NPA camp in Barangay Canatagan was already secured by government troopers, but they have been under heavy sporadic gunfire from communist guerrillas who are trying to recover the rebel enclave.
At the same time, Alvarado disclosed that soldiers have been securing all possible escape points of the besieged rebels, as well as other entry points to guerrilla strongholds in Cagayan.
According to him, rebel elements passing themselves off as civilians in urban areas may soon come to the scene of the firefight by pretending to be members of the "fact-finding missions" while providing "logistical support to their beleaguered comrades. — With Benjie Villa