MANILA, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- Two leftist New People's Army rebels were killed, another one was captured and a government soldier was injured in a firefight in Columbio town in southern Philippine province of Sultan Kudarat, the military said on Sunday.
Alexis Bravo, commander of the Army's 27th Infantry Battalion, said his men were responding to a report of rebel presence at Sitio Tiruray in Telafas village when the fighting broke out around 3:20 a.m Saturday.
"Our troops, along with Columbio town police forces, were there to respond (to the information) when they chanced upon the said NPAs," Bravo said.
Bravo said two of the rebels, whose name were not immediately known, laid dead on the ground while another - Renato Arema - was captured and later turned over to police custody. Also retrieved at the site were two high-powered firearms of the rebels.
Meanwhile, Bravo said that one of his men was injured in the right ankle in the fighting.
The NPA, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, was formed on March 29, 1969. Latest military estimates placed the NPA's strength at more than 4,000.
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