8 rebels Killed in N. Philippines

Eight New People's Army (NPA) rebels died following a clash with security forces at a remote village in northern Philippines Friday, police said. Citing initial reports from the field, Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesman Chief Supt. Agrimero Cruz said military and police forces were on a security mission around 11:41 a.m. local time when they caught up with undetermined number of NPA rebels in Poblacion West village, Rizal town, Nueva Ecija province, the Chinese Xinhua news agency reported. Eight rebels were killed in the clash, Cruz said, adding there were no reports of injuries or deaths on the government side. Recovered at the scene were seven short firearms, two grenades, and two cars, said Cruz. The clash occurred only one day after police operatives killed five NPA rebels and captured four others in a fierce clash in Lakambini village, Tuao town in Cagayan province. The NPA, armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, has been waging a guerrilla campaign in the countryside for more than four decades. The Philippine military estimates that there are some 4,700 NPA guerrilla fighters scattered in more than 60 provinces throughout the Southeast Asian country. In February, the Philippine government and the leftist rebels resumed the formal peace talks, which had been suspended for six years, in Oslo, Norway, in a bid to bring an end to the protracted insurgency.