A soldier was captured by members of the leftist rebel group New People's Army ( NPA) after they attacked an outpost of the military in a far-flung village in southern Philippines on Wednesday, authorities said.
Senior Superintendent Camilo Cascolan, chief of police in Compostela Valley province, said an undetermined number of NPAs attacked troops from the Philippine Army's 71st Infantry Battalion who were conducting peace and development mission in Elizalde village, Maco town.
Cascolan said a firefight between the NPAs and government security forces ensued which lasted for hours. The NPAs then fled upon sensing the arrival of reinforcements from the government.
While no one from both sides was hurt in the encounter, Lieutenant Vilma Mojado, spokesman of the Philippine Army's 1001st Infantry Brigade based in the province, confirmed to Xinhua that a soldier was taken captive by the rebels. Mojado, however, declined to name the soldier.
The incident took place just 12 hours after armed men with rifle grenades fired at a police station in Mabini town amid a power outage.
The 4,000-strong NPA, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, is fighting a leftist insurgency in 60 Philippine provinces since 1969.
