MANILA, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Three rebels and a soldier have been killed in clashes between government security forces and New People's Army (NPA) rebels in the northern Philippines, the army said on Thursday.
Maj. Noriel Tayaban, the spokesperson of the Philippine Army's 5th Infantry Division, said clashes broke out in Jones town in Isabela province on Tuesday and Wednesday. He said troops were conducting security operation in San Sebastian village around 5:30 a.m. local time Wednesday when they engaged with about 15 NPA insurgents.
Three rebels were killed, he said, adding that troops recovered an M16 assault rifle, an anti-personnel mine, an anti-tank mine, assorted ammunition, seven blasting caps, detonating core, electrical tale, eight backpacks, six cell phones and supervise documents.
On Tuesday, Tayaban said a soldier was also killed and a militia man was injured in an ambush staged by the NPA guerrillas also in San Sebastian village in Jones town.
He said two men were sent to the village to inspect a military road project when they were attacked.
The NPA rebels, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), continue to wage small scale armed attacks against the military after the Duterte administration scrapped the talks with the armed group in 2017.
The armed group marked the 50th anniversary of their rural rebellion on March 29.
The CPP and their front organizations have been attempting to negotiate a peace pact with five Philippine presidents before the current leader, President Rodrigo Duterte, but negotiated settlement remains elusive and peace talks have repeatedly stalled.
Duterte, whose single, six-year term ends in June 2022, said in March that he has no more plans to reopen the talks during his tenure.
