Leftist rebel killed, 5 soldiers wounded in South Philippine clash

Philippine government troops clashed with communist guerrillas early Tuesday in southern Philippines, leaving one rebel dead and five soldiers wounded, the military said. Captain Albert Caber, Eastern Mindanao Command spokesperson, said patrolling Philippine Army troops, acting on informant's tip a night before that New People's Army (NPA) rebels will raid Aliwagwag village in Cateel, Davao Oriental, chanced upon some 25 armed insurgents at 2 a.m., sparking a 30-minute firefight. "One rebel was killed while five soldiers were injured in a landmine blast," said Caber. Caber said the retreating rebels set-off an explosive, wounding five pursuing soldiers who were rushed to a regional military hospital for treatment. He said Philippine Army troops hunted the escaping guerrillas, as they recovered the remains of the unknown rebel and his assault rifle from the clash site in Cateel, a town hit in 2012 by deadly mudslides during heavy torrential rains. The 4,000-strong Maoist NPA rebels have regrouped mostly in their strongholds in the mountainous eastern Mindanao to continue their protracted war struggle they started in the Philippines since 1969.