Eight government troops killed in land mine blasts in Cotabato

Injured Killed
5 8

Date: 21 October 2013
Source: GMA News

Eight government security forces, including five soldiers and three militiamen, were killed while five others were wounded following two separate land mine blasts believed to have been perpetrated by New People’s Army rebels in Cotabato province Monday, the Armed Forces of the Philippines said. 

In a statement, the AFP said the first incident occurred around 9:20 a.m. when troops from the Army’s 38th Infantry Battalion were delivering subsistence allowance to auxiliary forces at the boundary of Barangays Caridad and Bituan in Tulunan town.

The land mine blast and the ensuing firefight claimed the lives of seven troops while another one was wounded.

Later at 11:25 a.m., troops belonging to the 57th IB were also hit by a land mine blast while approaching Barangay New Caridad also in Tulunan town, the same military statement said. 

The second explosion left one dead and four wounded.  

“The New People’s Army, indifferent to the dangers posed on civilians by their persistent use of unstable improvised explosive devices (IEDs) that they use as precursor to an ambush, continue to violate the Comprehensive Agreement on the Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law,” the military statement quoted Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala, AFP public information office chief, as saying.

Government troops have since launched pursuit operations against the rebels.

The NPA is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines. It has been waging an insurgency for over four decades. 

Peace talks with the NPA have not progressed under the Aquino administration because of many disagreements on both sides.
 
The government peace panel said it may resume peace talks with the group if they agree on a new negotiating framework. — RSJ, GMA News