Another 6 killed in clash in Philippine army and NPA rebels

Philippine government troops and members of the rebel New People's Army (NPA) clashed in a northern province, leaving four soldiers and two guerrillas dead, the military said on Sunday.

Some 50 NPA rebels engaged patrolling Philippine Army troops on Friday in Besao town of Mountain Province, about 280 km north of Manila, the military said in a report.

The 30-minute fierce firefight resulted in the killing of four government infantrymen and two rebel guerrillas, the report said.

The NPA halted peace talks with the government two years ago after Manila's failure to exclude it from the U.S. and European lists of foreign terrorist organizations.

The rebel group has been attacking civil and paramilitary targets in the countryside to allegedly help the opposition forces overthrow President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who recently ordered an all-out war to crush the NPA guerrillas within two years.

Source: Xinhua