From the Business Mirror (Jan 10):
NINE government troops were wounded on Thursday after they were ambushed by suspected New People’s Army guerrillas.
NINE government troops were wounded on Thursday after they were ambushed by suspected New People’s Army guerrillas.
The troops were returning to their camps after trying to serve a warrant of arrest in Agusan del Sur when the incident happened.
Capt. Christian Uy, spokesman for the Army’s 4th Infantry “Diamond” Division, said the soldiers and policemen were on their way to their camps after trying to serve the warrant of arrest on a certain Nelson Lugpatan Campos, when seven communist guerrillas fired at them.
As a result, seven soldiers, one policeman and one miliatiaman were wounded. The ambush happened at around 1:50 a.m. on Thursday at Barangay Balit, San Luis, Agusan del Sur.
Uy said troops from the 26th Infantry Battalion and members of the Agusan del Sur Provincial Public Safety Company were tasked by the court in Bayugan City, Agusan del Sur, to serve the warrant on Campos.
The troops, however, failed to arrest Campos, who is facing murder charges, at Sitio Kipuyag, Barangay San Pedro, San Luis. Uy said that as the troops headed back to their camps, seven rebels suddenly appeared and fired on them.