CAMP ELIAS ANGELES, Pili, CamSur – Troop reinforcements who were sent to locate the missing soldiers in an upland village of Presentacion, discovered the cadavers of 4 soldiers who were killed in an ambush by suspected CPP-NPA-NDF terrorist rebels at around 3:00pm today, a military officer said.
LtCol Ernesto Cruz, Commander of the 42nd Infantry Battalion, said that his unit has already found the cadaver of the missing soldiers near the encounter site.
“All of my missing soldiers are already accounted for. We will immediately transport them towards our headquarters in Nabua town,” said Cruz.
Cruz identified the dead as First Lieutenant Miguel Logronio Jr, a member of the Philippine Military Academy Class of 2009, Corporal Arturo Hernandez, Pfc Albert Jamera, and Pfc Edwin Britannico. All of them suffered multiple gunshot wounds and shrapnel wounds.
Responding soldiers also found Private First Class Bernard Vergara who was unscathed in the said ambush.
Vergara was among the five soldiers reported missing by military authorities. He was able to send a text message to his superiors about his status, triggering the large-scale rescue operations starting early this morning.
“I was lucky enough to have jumped towards a defilade area during the detonation of the first set of landmines. We gave them a good fight but the terrorist rebels have occupied a higher ground. The number of Molotov bombs and grenades thrown at us seemed endless so I decided to crawl farther away from the encounter site,” said Vergara.
“We had also inflicted casualties among our ambushers. I have personally seen them carrying their dead and wounded from my concealed position near the encounter site,” Vergara added.
Responding soldiers led by First Lieutenant Nonito Alcala found four unexploded landmines near the roadside. His troops also discovered some droplets of blood in the rebel positions.
“The rebels were planning to wipe out any military vehicle that will pass by their ambush position. They have planted larger sized landmines near the road and any large truck can be blown to pieces by those mines,” Alcala said.
Major General Ruperto Pabustan, Commander of the 9th Infantry Division, has directed the 902nd Brigade to intensify its combat patrols and security operations to protect the road project which links Presentacion and Caramoan towns.
LtCol Ernesto Cruz, Commander of the 42nd Infantry Battalion, said that his unit has already found the cadaver of the missing soldiers near the encounter site.
“All of my missing soldiers are already accounted for. We will immediately transport them towards our headquarters in Nabua town,” said Cruz.
Cruz identified the dead as First Lieutenant Miguel Logronio Jr, a member of the Philippine Military Academy Class of 2009, Corporal Arturo Hernandez, Pfc Albert Jamera, and Pfc Edwin Britannico. All of them suffered multiple gunshot wounds and shrapnel wounds.
Responding soldiers also found Private First Class Bernard Vergara who was unscathed in the said ambush.
Vergara was among the five soldiers reported missing by military authorities. He was able to send a text message to his superiors about his status, triggering the large-scale rescue operations starting early this morning.
“I was lucky enough to have jumped towards a defilade area during the detonation of the first set of landmines. We gave them a good fight but the terrorist rebels have occupied a higher ground. The number of Molotov bombs and grenades thrown at us seemed endless so I decided to crawl farther away from the encounter site,” said Vergara.
“We had also inflicted casualties among our ambushers. I have personally seen them carrying their dead and wounded from my concealed position near the encounter site,” Vergara added.
Responding soldiers led by First Lieutenant Nonito Alcala found four unexploded landmines near the roadside. His troops also discovered some droplets of blood in the rebel positions.
“The rebels were planning to wipe out any military vehicle that will pass by their ambush position. They have planted larger sized landmines near the road and any large truck can be blown to pieces by those mines,” Alcala said.
Major General Ruperto Pabustan, Commander of the 9th Infantry Division, has directed the 902nd Brigade to intensify its combat patrols and security operations to protect the road project which links Presentacion and Caramoan towns.
No comments:
Post a Comment