2 MIG men hurt as rebs raid safehouse

TUGUEGARAO CITY — At least two members of the Military Intelligence Group (MIG) were seriously wounded when the New People’s Army (NPA) swooped down on their safehouse in Quirino last Friday night.

However, military intelligence sources here would neither confirm nor deny the incident.

But an MIG asset in the area confirmed the NPA raid on their safehouse in Centro Maddela and the wounding of his two colleagues.

In a statement, the NPA’s Cagayan Valley Command owned up to the attack, saying its newly reactivated Venerando Villacillo unit pulled it off at about 9 p.m. last Friday. The NPA said it suffered no casualties. 

The attack followed a series of encounters between military and rebel forces in Cagayan Valley and western Cordillera last week, which left at least four soldiers and a number of guerrillas dead.

Firefights between government troops and communist guerrillas, especially in Isabela and Cagayan, have become more intense after President Arroyo declared an all-out war against the 35-year-old communist insurgency. 

The raid on the MIG’s safe—house in Quirino was viewed as a retaliatory act for the burning of the Bayan Muna-funded community radio station in Baggao, Cagayan last July 2.

The National Democratic Front-Cagayan Valley blamed the Army for the incident. The military, however, dismissed the allegation as "absurd."