CEBU, Philippines - The 8th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army reported Friday that a roadside landmine exploded 700 meters from a populated area of Barangay Bugtosan in Las Navas town of Northern Samar, killing three soldiers from the 34th Infantry Battalion and wounding six others.
The military said the landmine was planted by the New People's Army, according to a report from ABS-CBN News.com
The Army said the blast occurred at 11:20 a.m. on Tuesday (June 10), while the 34th IB was conducting security operations in the area. A 25-minute firefight ensued after the blast, after which the NPA rebels withdrew.
Government troops recovered from the scene five improvised explosive devices (IEDs), five electrical blasting caps, 1,500 meters electrical wire and two backpacks.
AFP data, as of 2013, pegged the deaths by NPA-planted landmines at 113. Last March 2, five civilians were critically wounded by a landmine blast in Davao del Sur. The NPA apologized for the incident.
On March 5, the 8th Infantry Division seized a landmine factory in Paranas, Samar, recovering 44 pieces of improvised landmines, a machine for landmine production and 20 pieces blasting caps with detonating cords, among others. (FREEMAN)