Explosives seized in Compostela Valley

Government troops recovered various explosives and materials believed used by communist New People’s Army (NPA) rebels in two separate incidents in Compostela Valley and Sulu.

Maj. Ernesto Torres, Army spokesman, said members of the Long Range Patrol Unit of the 60th infantry battalion and some elements of the Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU) of the Kidawa Patrol Base recovered two claymore mines, two 60 mm mortar ammunition and six hand grenades at Sitio Magad, Barangay Kidawa in Laak town, Compostela Valley.

He said the government troops acted on information about frequent sightings of NPA rebels in the said area.

But when they went to the place, there were no rebels but the soldiers found the explosives.

In another incident, a team of explosives experts and some Army troopers of the 35th infantry battalion scouring the vicinity of Tubura Hill in Indana, Sulu discovered an abandoned NPA camp with stockpiled explosives materials.

Torres said the government troops recovered four plastic containers filled with four liters of TNT, three cans filled with powdered explosives, a can filled with powdered tetryl, a pale yellow crystalline explosive used as detonator, 460 pieces of ball bearings, an electronic circuit board, a pressure release device, five improvised wooden pressure firing device and two rounds of high explosive cartridges.

The explosives were turned over to their respective battalion headquarters for proper disposition.