2 NPAs die in Albay shootout

Written by Gina Peralta-Elorde
Sunday, 19 August 2012 00:00
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Police and military operatives have launched a manhunt for a group of communist rebels chanced upon by government troops in Barangay Caguiba, Camalig, Albay early Saturday and engaged in a shootout that killed two rebels.
Philippine Army soldiers were on mobile patrol when they encountered the New People’s Army (NPA) band in a firefight that lasted for some minutes.
The police are still determining the identities of the slain rebels. Meanwhile, no casualties were reported on the government forces.
The military said the rebels may have been involved in extortion activities in the remote area of Barangay Caguiba.
Pursuit operations for other NPA rebels in the area are still ongoing.
Over in Zamboanga City, the police has released a computer-generated sketch of one of the suspects in Thursday’s bus explosion that left seven people hurt.
The Zamboanga police said the sketch was based on witnesses’ accounts of two men boarded the bus and got off moments before the explosion.
One of the suspects, believed to be from 29 to 32 years old, was reportedly of medium build, weighing between 50 to 60 kilos and between 5”5’ to 5”6’ in height.
Police have yet to identify the group behind the blast but they are suspecting the terrorist Abu Sayyaf Group with extortion as the possible motive.
Security has been tightened at the Guiwan bus terminal, several meters away from the blast.
Checkpoints were also put up in major roads in Zamboanga.