6 soldiers killed, 9 wounded in Isabela clash with NPAs

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines – At least six soldiers were killed in yesterday’s encounter  with suspected New People’s Army rebels in Isabela’s remote village along the northern Sierra Madre mountain ranges.

The fatalities are members of the Army’s 502nd Infantry Brigade based in Jones, Isabela.

 The clash was ongoing in Mabbayad village along the border of Echague and San Mariano towns as of presstime, a reliable source said.

The clash occurred at around 5:15 a.m. while government troops were conducting combat operation on the foothills of the Sierra Madre. A group of armed men earlier engaged the soldiers in a 45-minute gunfight in the area. 

Authorities withheld the identities of the slain soldiers pending notification of their respective families. 

Col. Rogelio Collado, 502nd IB commander, confirmed the gunfight with communist rebels in Echague town but denied reports that 2nd Lt. Jim Torre Palma of the brigade’s reconnaissance company was captured by the rebels. 

The rebels claimed to have seized three machine guns and three M-16 Armalite rifles from the government side.