NEWS

AFP neutralizes 348 NPA rebels in Q1

Lade Jean Kabagani · Mar 12, 2024, 7:43 PM

(FILE PHOTO) Army soldiers shot it out with about 15 Dawlah Islamiyah suspects hiding out at a mountain farm close to the remote southern municipality of Piagapo on Thursday, the commander of the military unit said. — Photo: AFP

The Armed Forces of the Philippines reported a total of 348 New People's Army (NPA) rebels have been neutralized in the first quarter of 2024.

In a press briefing on Tuesday, AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla said the figure consists of the 301 NPA rebels who have surrendered, 14 were apprehended, and 33 were killed amid a series of focused military operations from 1 January to 7 March.

In the same period, Padilla said about 41 NPA camps, 175 firearms, and 44 anti-personnel mines (APMs) were seized from the communist rebels.

Aside from NPA rebels, Padilla said that the AFP has also accounted for at least 44 local terrorist group members were neutralized in the same period this year, with 27 of them surrendered, one apprehended, and 16 killed in the gunbattles.