• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
An army soldier wounded during an armed clash between government troops and suspected members of the New People’s Army (NPA) in Barangay Tamlang, Escalante City, on Monday has died.
1Lt. Fevie Fajardo, civil-military operations chief of the 79th Infantry Battalion, said the soldier sustained injuries during a brief gunbattle with five rebels believed to be responsible for the recent killings of two civilians in the hinterlands of Calatrava and Toboso.
Fajardo said the rebel remnants were among those behind the liquidation of two civilians in Barangay Minautok, Calatrava, on May 13, and in Barangay Magticol, Toboso, on May 27.
The gunbattle, which lasted around five minutes, forced the rebels to retreat, leaving behind their personal belongings.
The five suspected rebels encountered by the soldiers are believed to be part of the remnants of the group led by Roger Fabillar Tapang, one of 19 NPA combatants killed during the April 19 encounter in Barangay Salamanca, Toboso. | GB
