The death toll in the running gun battle between government security forces and suspected communist rebels in northern Philippines on Saturday climbed to six, the military said on Sunday.
A military report said that the clashes that started around 2:00 p.m. local time on Saturday and ended early Sunday morning in Santa Lucia town near Candon City in Ilocos Sur province resulted in the killing of five New People’s Army (NPA) rebels and an army soldier.
Quoting witnesses, the report added that villagers who were caught in the crossfire “were fired upon by the NPA (rebels) and suffered multiple injuries.”
The report said the bodies of the two NPA rebels were recovered on Saturday, while three more bodies were recovered on Sunday morning.