Philippine Rebels Kill 37 Soldiers, Injure 22 Others
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CAGAYAN DE ORO, Philippines — Communist rebels killed 37 soldiers and injured 22 in one of the bloodiest battle defeats suffered by the armed forces during the 23-year Marxist insurgency, the military said Monday.
A military report said more than 150 New People’s Army guerrillas, armed with mortars and machine guns, ambushed a 100-member army patrol Saturday in Surigao del Sur province, 550 miles southeast of Manila on Mindanao island.
It was the highest number of casualties suffered by the government this year and the most in the southern Philippines since a 1983 rebel attack on an army brigade headquarters that left 57 dead.
The survivors said the rebels overran their position after the troopers ran out of ammunition after three hours. Some soldiers took cover in the nearby forest.
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