Guard Killed İn Communist Rebel Attack İn Philippines

The Philippines' military sent additional troops to a southern town Wednesday after an attack by communist insurgents on a fruit company left a security guard dead and five soldiers injured around midnight.



Lt. Col. Ronald Jess Alcudia, 27th Infantry Battalion commander, told MindaNews that undetermined number of New People's Army (NPA) rebels stormed the facility in South Cotabato province shortly before midnight at around 11.30 p.m (1530GMT) Tuesday, killing a security guard posted at the rear gate.



When troops manning a nearby army detachment responded to the attack, a 30-minute firefight broke out and left five soldiers injured.



"Our troops and the company's security personnel were able to hold on and repulse the attack," Alcudia said, adding that the some of the guerillas who withdrew toward the hinterland of Kipalbig village are also believed to have suffered some casualties.



Two of the soldiers remain in hospital while three others with minor injuries have been released, the Inquirer reported.



Alcudia said security forces had earlier received reports that the company had been receiving extortion demands and threats from the NPA as early as January.



Additional troops have been dispatched to Tampakan to secure the facility and check for possible planted landmines, and Alcudia has advised residents to be "extra careful" along the route the rebels used to withdraw.



Since March 1969, the NPA -- the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines -- has been waging one of Asia's longest running insurgencies, which the military says has claimed more than 3,000 lives in the last eight years alone.



Philippine authorities have tagged the rebels as notorious extortionists and blamed them for harassing banana, pineapple and rubber plantations, as well as poultry farms and mining outfits.



As of late last year, there were estimated to be about 4,700 NPA rebels, mainly in the poorest areas of the Philippines.



Peace talks between the National Democratic Front -- the communist groups' political arm -- and the government collapsed in early 2013 due to rebel demands that detained comrades be freed. - Zamboanga