Maoist rebels ambush Philippine troops, 8 wounded

MANILA, May 29 (Reuters) Eight Philippine soldiers were wounded when communist New People's Army (NPA) rebels ambushed a military convoy in the north, an army commander said today, warning of more guerrilla attacks in the provinces.

Lieutenant-Colonel Joselito Kakilala, an army battalion commander in the province of Aurora, said his troops were sent to a remote village to check the presence of armed men when they were ambushed by rebels yesterday night.

''At least eight soldiers were wounded in the initial burst of gunfire,'' Kakilala told reporters, adding the NPA rebels tried to disable two army trucks to pin down the troops.

Kakilala said the soldiers exchanged automatic gunfire for 30 minutes until the rebels fled carrying an undetermined number of casualties.

Since 1969, the NPA rebels have waged a protracted rebellion that has killed more than 40,000 people and slowed growth in one of the poorest countries in Southeast Asia.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has ordered an all-out war on the 7,000-member NPA, which is based in rural areas in 69 of 81 provinces.

Peace talks, brokered by Norway, collapsed in August 2004 when the United States and some Western European states put the NPA and its leader, Jose Maria Sison, on terrorism blacklists.

Yesterday, Sison said he had asked the Council of the European Union to remove him from its terrorist blacklist, arguing he was no longer the leader of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its army, NPA.

Through his lawyer, Sison also wanted the Dutch government to restore his social benefits and lift the 2002 freeze order on his private bank accounts.

Reuters AGL DB1044