Fighting rages between military, NPA in Negros Occidental
Quezon City (11 October) -- THE MILITARY caught up with communist guerillas who attacked a major airport in the central Philippines and engaged the group in a running gunbattle, a spokesman for the Philippine Army said.
At around 7:45 a.m., troops from the 61st Infantry Battalion engaged some 20 New People's Army (NPA) in a firefight in Cruz village, Calatrava town, Negros Occidental province, just three kilometers from the Silay City airport, said Major Ernesto Torres.
Two UH-1H helicopters and two MG-520 attack choppers were immediately dispatched to the scene, Torres said.
At 10:45 a.m., government forces encountered the same group of NPA guerillas in nearby Tilin village. There were no immediate reports of casualties, he said.
"The firefight is ongoing. The NPA is cornered," the Army spokesman said. (PIA) [top]