Philippine soldiers. (Photo: AFP/VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - Five people were killed and 15 others wounded in a series of attacks by the New People’s Army (NPA) in southern Philippines on February 16, said the Philippine army on February 17.
Colonel Rhyan Batchar, spokesperson of the army's 10th Infantry Division, said the NPA set off an improvised explosive device targeting a military convoy in Calinan district, 15km southeast away from Davao city. Two soldiers were killed in the attack. In the following clash, 15 soldiers were wounded and two rebels died.
An insurgent of the NPA was also killed in another attack in Binaton village of Paquibato district.
Batchar added that government soldiers are chasing the rebels.
The clashes on February 16 were the latest in the escalation of violence between the Philippine government troops and the NPA, which has been waging a rebellion since 1969. Fighting between government troops and the NPA has killed 30,000 people in the past five decades. -VNA
