1 soldier killed, 4 wounded in leftist rebel attack in southern Philippines

A government soldier was killed and four others including two civilians were wounded following a firefight with communist New People's Army(NPA) rebels in Misamis Oriental Province of southern Philippines on Saturday afternoon, a military official reported on Sunday.

Capt. Joe Patrick Martinez, public affairs officer of the Army' s 4th Infantry Division, said the rebels abducted one of the wounded soldiers and one civilian who were used as human shields by the insurgents as they escaped.

Martinez said troops from the Army's 58th Infantry Battalion were deployed to Alagatan Village, Gingoog City on the request of local officials who complained about the presence of the insurgents conducting extortion activities.

At around 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Martinez said the soldiers were on the way to the Village hall to report that the patrols yielded negative result when they were fired upon by at least 30 rebels, ensuing a 20-minute firefight.

"The NPAs indiscriminately fired upon the troops unmindful of the presence of the civilians in the area...Two civilians were wounded because of the indiscriminate firing," the official also said.

Martinez said the civilian captive was released along the rebels' escape route while the abducted soldier, who he said was wounded in the leg, is still in the custody of the insurgents.

The 4,000-strong NPA, armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, has been fighting a leftist insurgency in 60 Philippine provinces since 1969.