BY CRIS DIAZ
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY: Three unidentified armed men believed to be members of the outlawed communist New People’s Army (NPA) were killed in an armed skirmishes with state forces in Butuan City Friday morning.
Lt. Jade Buñe, the spokesperson of the army’s 29IB, said that the military also recovered 15 firearms during clearing operations in the hinterlands of Mt. Apo Apo, part of Anticala, an outskirt village, 22 kilometers east of Butuan City.
Buñe said that the combined elements of the army’s 29IB and the 30IB engaged about 30 armed men believed to belong to communist Northeastern Mindanao Regional Committee (NEMRC), which resulted in the firefight.
He said that the military conducted patrol in the area in response to reports from the local community about the presence of an unidentified armed men in the area.
According to Buñe, the military patrol stumbled on the armed group’s hideout, which resulted in the armed encounter killing the three unidentified armed men and the recovery of 15 firearms.
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