BUTUAN CITY, Philippines – Three Army soldiers were killed while five others were wounded in an ambush by suspected New People’s Army (NPA) guerrillas in Prosperidad town, Agusan del Sur Saturday night.
The fatalities, who were members of the Army’s 2nd Scout Ranger Battalion, died at the scene after an improvised explosive device (IED), believed planted by the insurgents, went off.
The five wounded troopers were taken to the San Francisco Doctor’s Hospital, some 30 kilometers away from the blast scene, for treatment of shrapnel wounds.
The military refused to identify the slain and the wounded troopers until after their families are notified.
Reports said the soldiers were in a convoy of five military trucks to check reports about the presence of armed men in Barangay Los Arcos when one of their vehicles hit an IED in Barangay Magsaysay.
The explosion was followed by gunshots from the insurgents, triggering a 30-minute firefight.
“Although we incurred casualties, our troops managed to fight back and prevented the rebels from overrunning,” Lt. Gen. Aurelio Baladad, chief of the Armed Forces Eastern Mindanao Command, said.
The troops recovered another IED left behind by the rebels.