6 alleged NPA rebels killed in Northern Samar clash

Six alleged members of the New Peoples’ Army were killed and four firearms were seized during an encounter with government security forces in Barangay Paco in Las Navas, Northern Samar on Monday.

The operation stemmed from an information given by a civilian who saw a group of armed men in the said barangay. The communist terrorists were part of the Eastern Visayas Regional Party Committee, according to the Philippine Army’s 8th Infantry Division.

“Based on the accounts of the encountered government troops, the terrorist's hideouts were heavily fortified and surrounded by prohibited anti-personnel mines that prompted the troops to call for artillery support. Under the International Humanitarian Law, these anti-personnel mines are prohibited,” the Army said in a statement.

The Army said that the alleged terrorists were behind several crimes in the province like the killing of a barangay kagawad last February.

They also alleged that the group was involved in attacks on government forces in Northern Samar early this year.

Recovered from the operation were two M16 rifles, two pistols, three grenades and assorted personal belongings.  — Vince Angelo Ferreras/BAP, GMA Integrated News