Six army soldiers were wounded after they hit a roadside explosive device laid by suspected New People’s Army rebels at a village in Natipunan town in Quirino province Tuesday morning.
Capt. Jefferson Somera, spokesman of the Army’s 5th Infantry Division, did not identify the wounded army soldiers who were rushed to the Diduyon District Hospital and Cabaroguis Hospital in Quirino province.
Maj. Gen. Paul Atal, Commander of the 5th Infantry Division immediately condemned the incident.
“This is a clear violation of Comprehensive Agreement on Respect of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law and the international rules of warfare, particularly the protocols on the use of mines and explosives,” Atal said.
The latest incident blamed on the NPA came amid the communist movement’s commitment to talk peace with the government and end the decades-old insurgency in the country.
The NPA has launched a series of attacks on military detachments and posts at the height of the ongoing peace negotiations between the Communist Party and government panel at The Netherlands.
Both panels are expected to meet sometime in August for the resumption of the stalled peace talks due to the unabated NPA hostile posturing against government forces that had so far resulted in the killing of dozen of soldiers and the death of nearly 50 cadres in various clashes in the countryside.
The latest NPA attack occurred at Brgy Sangbay in Natipunan town when soldiers of the 5th ID hit a “pressure-type land mine at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Somera said the soldiers were en route to their camp from a Civil Military Operations (CMO) and coordinating meeting with local officials of Quirino when they accidentally stepped on the landmine.
Somera said no ensued fighting occurred after the incident.