Communist landmine kills 4 troops in Philippines

MANILA, Dec 1: At least four Philippine soldiers were killed and three were wounded when communist rebels detonated a landmine on the troubled southern island of Mindanao, said an army general today.

Brigadier-General Luini Mirar, military commander in Surigao provinces, said the soldiers were rushing to a detachment under attack by communist New People's Army (NPA) rebels in Marihatag town in Surigao del Sur when they were attacked.

''We lost four men when the rebels set off a landmine in Cagwait town,'' Mirar told reporters, adding three soldiers who were wounded managed to fight back and prevented the guerrillas from taking their weapons.

The army truck was a wreck and an armoured vehicle was slightly damaged in the attack, Mirar added.

Mirar said extra troops were sent to chase the rebels and evacuate the wounded soldiers to the nearest army base.

The insurgency by the 7,000-member NPA has killed more than 40,000 people since the late 1960s, scaring investors and slowing rurl development in one of Southeast Asia's poorest countries.

REUTERS