Philippine Guerrillas Kill at Least 6 Soldiers in Bombing

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/12/world/asia/philippines-communist-soldiers-samar.html

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MANILA — Six Philippine soldiers were killed and 23 others wounded, the military said on Tuesday, when a platoon checking on reports of an infiltration by communist rebels stepped on improvised bombs as they negotiated hilly terrain.

The troops had been sent in on Monday after civilians had complained of harassment by guerrillas with the New People’s Army outside Borongan City on Samar Island, which is in the central eastern part of the country.

Six improvised bombs planted by the insurgents exploded before the soldiers engaged in a firefight with them, the military said. The 30-minute gun battle that followed led to the death of one guerrilla, the military said.

The killings were a reminder of the stubborn insurgent threat in remote areas of the Philippines despite military campaigns aimed at eliminating the rebels.

Capt. Reynaldo Aragones, an Army infantry spokesman, said the rebels “were extorting money and food, and the responding soldiers were hit by the blasts.”

He said soldiers were still searching the remote area for insurgents.

The island of Samar is one of the few remaining strongholds of the New People’s Army, the armed unit of the Communist Party of the Philippines, which has waged a guerrilla campaign for half a century.

President Rodrigo Duterte, a self-proclaimed leftist, initially enjoyed support from the party’s founder, Jose Maria Sison, who is in exile in Europe.

Mr. Sison taught Mr. Duterte when he was in college, and many had initially thought that their connection would lead to an end to an insurgency that has claimed thousands of lives and stunted the growth of the countryside.

But Mr. Duterte abruptly called off talks with the communists in 2017, accusing them of continuing to attack government positions despite the peace efforts.

He has dared Mr. Sison to come home and personally talk peace with him. But Mr. Sison rebuffed the offer, saying he faced arrest if he set foot in the Philippines. The president then declared a termination of the peace process until his term ends in 2022.

In April, six soldiers were killed in a communist rebel attack that came a month after the insurgents marked their 50th anniversary.