5 soldiers killed, 8 hurt in Abra landmine blast

SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga , Philippines   – Five Army soldiers were killed while eight others were wounded after their group tripped on a landmine reportedly set up by New People’s Army (NPA) rebels in Tubo, Abra last Monday night.

Maj. Rosendo Armas, Armed Forces’ Northern Luzon Command (Nolcom) spokesman, confirmed this in a text message, although 1st Lt. Eduard Sia-ed, information officer of the Army’s 503rd Infantry Brigade, confirmed only six wounded.

Nolcom though, in an earlier official statement, merely referred to “several casualties” in the incident.

Pressed for more details, Armas later sent The STAR a text message confirming that five Army soldiers were killed and eight others were wounded in the landmine explosion.

The Nolcom statement said the victims were all from the 501st Infantry Brigade. It did not name those killed but identified among those wounded as Sgt. Rodolfo Dombrique Jr., Pfcs. Frank Nawi, Felix Gac-oy, Antonio Allawi, Jaylord Robredo, and Glendon Guillermo, and Pvt. Jay-ar Laman.

The wounded were flown to the Abra Provincial Hospital in Bangued for treatment and eventually to the AFP Medical Center in Quezon City the following day, with the help of the Abra provincial government and Abra Rep. Cecilia Seares Luzon, Nolcom said.

The soldiers were conducting pursuit operations when one of them tripped on an improvised explosive device, which Nolcom identified as a landmine allegedly planted by fleeing NPA guerrillas in a mountainous area in Barangay Kili, Tubo town, a report from Sia-ed said.

“The use of landmines is clearly prohibited under International Humanitarian Law. The incident only confirms the terrorist character of the NPAs. Historically, the use of landmines has also been a practice of local terrorist groups to inflict heavy casualties against government troops, and sometimes (even against) Armed Forces’ supporters or politicians,” Nolcom said

Pursuit operations were led by the 503rd IB headed by Col. Essel Soriano but the NPA rebels were believed to have mixed with local residents.

An attempt of the NPA rebels to ambush soldiers from the 41st IB led to a firefight in Barangay Lat-ey in Malibcong, Abra at around 1 p.m. last Tuesday, but no casualties were reported on either side, Nolcom said.

Nolcom quoted Soriano as saying that military troops “will press on the campaign (against communist rebels) in pursuit of the AFP’s objective to reduce the NPAs to insignificant levels (and thus) secure the environment for effective governance by local chief executives.”