Cop hurt in NPA attack

ILOILO CITY, Philippines  – A police officer was wounded when suspected New People’s Army (NPA) guerrillas harrased a police detachment in Calinog town, Iloilo on Sunday.

Police Officer 1 Junel Gardose, 26, was taken to a hospital for a bullet wound in the jaw, according to Chief Inspector Rogelio Ortigas, town police chief.

Reports said the rebels shot at the detachment in Barangay Agcalaga at around 11 a.m.

Authorities recovered eight bullet shells for an M16 Armalite and AK47 assault rifle.

Meanwhile, as the rebels assaulted the Calinog detachment, another group of communist insurgents clashed with government security forces in the nearby town of Tapaz in Capiz.

Maj. Ray Tiongson, spokesperson for the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division, said troopers belonging to the 61st Infantry Battalion were patrolling in Barangay Aglinab when they encountered the rebels at about 10:45 a.m.

None of the troopers was killed or injured in the firefight.