Government forces capture big NPA camp in Cordillera

MANILA, Philippines – Government police and military forces successfully captured a big New People’s Army camp in Mt Province on Saturday, August 31, following an initial assault that injured two policemen on Thursday morning.

According to intelligence information, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP/NPA) under the Kilusang Larangan Guerilla (KLG) MARCO Command operating in the province established a camp located in the remote barangay of Aguid, Sagada.

The camp, reportedly well-equipped, was not only a staging area for the communist rebels’ previous attacks on police, but also a training ground of its forces for the staging of a massive attack against government forces deployed in the province for peacekeeping activities.

During the government’s initial assault on Thursday, PO1 Primo Marcelo and PO1 Romel Sagot were injured in an encounter with about about 35 heavily-armed communist rebels within the camp.

The Police Regional Office-Cordillera (PRO-COR) requested the delivery of Close Air Support enroute to the camp and its surroundings to soften enemy fire and disable improvised explosive devices (IEDs) scattered by the rebels.

The police was aided by the 54th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army and the Philippine Air Force.

Two separate ambushes in the past, one of a Philippine National Police (PNP) Special Counter-Insurgency Operation Unit trainee, and the other of a PNP-Special Action Force personnel, proved the CPP/NPA has been utilizing IEDs in their operations to harm more soldiers. 

Chief Supt Benjamin Magalong, PRO-COR regional director, said aside from the IEDs, the joint forces discovered medical kits and subversive documents within the camp. – Rappler.com