Firearms, improvised explosive devices, and several war materiel were recovered by soldiers of the 71st Infantry Battalion after a clash with Communist rebels in Mabini, Compostela Valley on Sunday, March 31.1Lt. Jhocell Asis, the civil-military operations officer of the 71st IB, said the encounter was the second that happened between the soldiers and the New People’s Army members in Mabini town.
The most recent clash took place in Sitio Dasuran, Barangay Golden Valley around 9:45 a.m. The place was just five kilometers away from the first encounter in Sitio Mangurayan, Barangay Anitapan last March 28.
On Sunday, soldiers and the rebels exchanged fire for 20 minutes until the guerrillas retreated.
According to the report, they left behind one lower receiver M16 rifle, one long magazine of M16 rifle, two IEDs, blasting cap, one homemade shotgun with one magazine, 150-meter tripwire, one transistor radio, subversive documents, food stuff, batteries, three water containers, three back packs with personal belongings, and one hammock.
Lt. Col. Esteveyn E Ducusin, battalion commander of the 71st IB, commended the troops for the accomplishment.
“We believed that they are still the same terrorist group that our troops encountered three days ago,” Ducusin said.
“We continue to hunt them to protect the community from the deceptive recruitment, extortion activities, and atrocities of the terrorist group,” he said.
