2 NPA rebels found dead

NORTH COTABATO, Philippines — Soldiers recovered yesterday the bodies of two New People’s Army (NPA) rebels believed to be involved in the killing of a militiaman in Arakan town on Thursday.

Capt. Silver Belvis, spokesman for the Army’s 39th Infantry Battalion, said the fatalities, who have yet to be identified, yielded ammunition and subversive documents.

Probers said the NPA rebels were fatally wounded in the gunfight with responding soldiers and Citizen Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU) personnel and could have been left by their comrades when they escaped.

CAFGU member Joel Batawan was slain in an ambush in Barangay Santo Niño. Another militiaman, Jonathan Lasoy, was wounded.