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28-10-08, 18:48
Eight dead as Philippines troops clash with Muslim rebels: military
AFP
28 October 2008 | 7:35 AM
Manila, October 27, 2008 (AFP) - At least seven Muslim separatists and a soldier have been killed in clashes in the southern Philippines, the military said Tuesday.
The two-hour firefight took place near the town of Mamasapano on the island of Mindanao on Monday, said the region's military spokesman, Major Randolph Cabangbang.
Government forces recovered the bodies of seven Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) gunmen, he told reporters.
One soldier was killed and four others were wounded, he added.
The 12,000-strong MILF has stepped up attacks in Mindanao in the past three months after peace talks with President Gloria Arroyo's government broke down, leaving scores of civilians dead and displacing about half a million people.
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Communist rebels storm Philippine jail, freeing seven
AFP
26 October 2008 | 10:55 AM
Manila, October 26, 2008 (AFP) - Communist rebels disguised as drug enforcement officials infiltrated a prison in the Philippines, overpowered the guards and freed seven of their comrades being held for murder, police said Sunday.
The New People's Army (NPA) rebels claimed to be handing a prisoner in to the facility in Lucena, south of the capital Manila, provincial police chief Fidel Posadas said.
Once inside the gates however, they overpowered the guards and sprang seven comrades whom they called "political detainees," Posadas told DZBB radio.
The fleeing rebels threw grenades and fired at police, wounding two of them and two other civilians, he said.
He said the jail guards failed to follow proper procedures and allowed the men inside without verifying their identities.
"The guards did not even ask which judge ordered the turnover of prisoners. So the men entered the jail freely," he said.
The provincial warden and 25 other jail guards were not at the facility and apparently were attending a seminar in Manila, Posadas said.
"The governor odered the provincial warden and the deputy warden relieved while the investigation is ongoing," he said.
The NPA is the armed unit of the Communist Party of the Philippines, which has been waging a Maoist rebellion since 1969 in one of Asia's longest running insurgencies.
tap
AFP
28 October 2008 | 7:35 AM
Manila, October 27, 2008 (AFP) - At least seven Muslim separatists and a soldier have been killed in clashes in the southern Philippines, the military said Tuesday.
The two-hour firefight took place near the town of Mamasapano on the island of Mindanao on Monday, said the region's military spokesman, Major Randolph Cabangbang.
Government forces recovered the bodies of seven Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) gunmen, he told reporters.
One soldier was killed and four others were wounded, he added.
The 12,000-strong MILF has stepped up attacks in Mindanao in the past three months after peace talks with President Gloria Arroyo's government broke down, leaving scores of civilians dead and displacing about half a million people.
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Communist rebels storm Philippine jail, freeing seven
AFP
26 October 2008 | 10:55 AM
Manila, October 26, 2008 (AFP) - Communist rebels disguised as drug enforcement officials infiltrated a prison in the Philippines, overpowered the guards and freed seven of their comrades being held for murder, police said Sunday.
The New People's Army (NPA) rebels claimed to be handing a prisoner in to the facility in Lucena, south of the capital Manila, provincial police chief Fidel Posadas said.
Once inside the gates however, they overpowered the guards and sprang seven comrades whom they called "political detainees," Posadas told DZBB radio.
The fleeing rebels threw grenades and fired at police, wounding two of them and two other civilians, he said.
He said the jail guards failed to follow proper procedures and allowed the men inside without verifying their identities.
"The guards did not even ask which judge ordered the turnover of prisoners. So the men entered the jail freely," he said.
The provincial warden and 25 other jail guards were not at the facility and apparently were attending a seminar in Manila, Posadas said.
"The governor odered the provincial warden and the deputy warden relieved while the investigation is ongoing," he said.
The NPA is the armed unit of the Communist Party of the Philippines, which has been waging a Maoist rebellion since 1969 in one of Asia's longest running insurgencies.
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