CAGAYAN DE ORO, Philippines (AP) — Philippine military officials say communist guerrillas abducted two soldiers and at least a dozen militiamen and seized several rifles in an attack on an army base in the country's south in the latest flare-up of an insurgency that has raged for nearly half a century.
Military Chief of Staff Gen. Benjamin Madrigal Jr. and police officials said Wednesday government forces were trying to track down about 80 New People's Army rebels who took the hostages in a pre-dawn attack on an army patrol base near Sibagat town in Agusan del Sur province.
Madrigal says troops are checking whether some of the militiamen who were reported to have been seized managed to escape and hide.
Police officials say the guerrillas seized more than 20 assault rifles and two-way radio equipment.
