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A New People’s Army (NPA) guerrilla was killed during a clash with government troops in Surigao del Sur on Wednesday morning, a military spokesman reported.

Citing reports reaching the Philippine Army headquarters in Fort Bonifacio, Army spokesman Lt. Col. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos said the encounter took place at around 10:15 a.m. at the village of Bolhoon in San Miguel town.

Burgos said troops from the 36th Infantry Battalion were on a security patrol when they caught up with about five rebels, resulting in a brief firefight.

“The firefight resulted to one enemy killed and the recovery of one M16 rifle,” said Burgos, adding that no casualty was reported on the military side.

“Troops are still scouring the area to protect the residents from possible NPA atrocities,” he said.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is aiming to defeat the NPA, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, on or before June, this year, when President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo finishes her term.

- PNA