MANILA, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- Three government soldiers were killed by alleged leftist rebels in southern Philippines on Monday morning, according to the military.
These soldiers, on their way for a holiday break, were killed in an ambush by New People's Army (NPA) militants in Mabini town in Compostela Valley Province on Monday morning, said Vergel Lacambra, public affairs officer of the Army's 10th Infantry Division.
Lacambra said troops from the Army's 71st Infantry Battalion -- two soldiers and a militiaman -- were aboard a motorcycle when they were ambushed by eight rebels at around 9:45 a.m. at Candinuyan village of Mabini town.
"(They) were on their way ... for Christmas break when they were mercilessly waylaid and shot at point blank," said Lacambra.
The government is observing a unilateral one-month Yuletide truce, starting at midnight on Dec. 18.
Meanwhile, the NPA declared truce on Dec. 24, 25, 26 for Christmas; Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 for New Year and Jan. 15 to 19 for the visit of Pope Francis.
The military withheld the identities of the slain troops because their families are yet to be notified of their death.
The NPA, armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, has been waging a guerrilla campaign against the government in the countryside for four decades. Military estimates the NPA strength at more than 4,000 men scattered in more than 60 guerrilla fronts throughout the country.